Canada to apply USMCA cultural exemption to digital trade

Government decides not to exempt artistic works from 20-year copyright extension

The broad cultural exemption Canada fought to keep in the renegotiated North American free trade deal will allow for Canadian content rules in digital media.

But government sources say the Trudeau government will not use that exemption in order to escape a section of the revised trade deal that extends copyright protections for artistic works by 20 years.

Since the text of the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) was released on Oct.1, it's been unclear exactly which chapters Canada's cultural sector must comply with, and from which provisions it will be exempt. In response to CBC News inquiries, government sources have clarified what's actually covered...

This was excerpted from the 17 October 2018 edition of CBC News.