On November 7, two bills that make enormous progress toward establishing a meaningful have become law after receiving . Bills and are complementary private members鈥� bills that amend in relation to technological protection measures (TPMs).
TPMs, also referred to as 鈥渄igital locks,鈥� are software or hardware that restrict the modification or repair of a device or technology. The Copyright Act gives a very broad and open-ended definition of techniques, components and devices that can be considered TPMs.
Both bills can be traced back to 2021, and have spent the past several years winding through the legislative process in Parliament and the Senate. They are the product of enormous grassroots support and advocacy from NGOs, members of the public and national industry associations.
I am a co-founder of the and I lead a research team that investigates the in Canada. As an intellectual property lawyer, I have provided law and policy insights to Canada鈥檚 Parliament, the European Commission and the Australian Productivity Commission. I appeared as a witness before the Standing Committee on Industry and Technology to speak in favour of these bills.
A broad definition
Given the wide appeal for the right to repair 鈥� 鈥� the bills have received unanimous and multi-partisan support throughout the numerous readings and debates.
TPMs were included in the Copyright Act in 2012 in an effort to combat online piracy of entertainment media and unauthorized uses of works on digital formats and devices like DVDs and the iPod.
Though we have largely moved on from those technologies, TPMs are present in an ever-growing number of smart devices and machinery: everything from agricultural equipment to home appliances to cars to medical devices. Ostensibly, anything with embedded software and a microchip can incorporate TPMs into its design.
Often repairing computerized devices requires circumventing TPMs, whether to access diagnostic and repair information on the device itself, or in making ch