The Legacy of CCH Canadian v. LSUC and the Future of Copyright Law
- nandees
- Apr 10
- 3 min read
Updated: 3 hours ago
Call for Abstracts: Conference
Demandes de contributions: conférence
September 19-20, 2025
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA
ABOUT THE CONFERENCE
In the landmark judgment CCH Canadian Ltd. v Law Society of Upper Canada, 2004 SCC 13 [CCH], the Supreme Court of Canada changed the course of Canadian copyright law, addressing some of its most fundamental questions. In a single unanimous ruling, the Court established the “skill and judgment” test for meeting copyright’s originality standard; limited the potential scope of intermediary liability for “authorizing infringement”; addressed the meaning of “communication to the public by telecommunication”; and perhaps most famously, declared fair dealing and other exceptions to copyright infringement to be “user rights,” finding that copyright’s purpose takes into account the rights of users in addition to the rights of copyright holders. More than two decades later, as CCH turns 21, it is time to reflect on its legacy in Canada and worldwide. What did this groundbreaking ruling accomplish or set in motion? Has this case about photocopying withstood the test of time and technological change? Can its reasons extend to solve some of today’s new copyright challenges? As the rules of engagement between copyright holders, users, and the public shift with the major disruptions brought about by Generative AI, is Canada’s post-CCH copyright law still fit for purpose? This conference will approach these issues from historical, international, multi-jurisdictional, and interdisciplinary perspectives.
DEADLINE TO SUBMIT PAPER ABSTRACTS: May 15, 2025 (5:00 PM EST)
Vous pouvez soumettre votre proposition de contribution en français
Word Limit for Abstracts: 500 - 1000 words
Responses and invitations to be issued by May 30, 2025
We invite submissions from scholars in a broad range of disciplines, including Law, Information Studies, History, Book History, Communication and Media Studies, Economics, and encourage submissions from Junior Faculty, Post-Doctoral Students and Ph.D. Students.
ZONES OF INQUIRY
Whether and how CCH contributed to calibrating the rights differently between copyright holders and users in Canada and worldwide?
Whether and how CCH influenced the trajectory of copyright law in Canada and worldwide in the last twenty years?
Can copyright history inform the challenges the law faces today?
How does the statutory nature of copyright law inform its evolution in contrast to and alongside the common law?
How has the digital age transformed copyright since CCH? For example, in terms of the various modes of making works available to the public including through digital lending?
What regime should govern the liability of internet intermediaries for copyright infringement?
How does the advent of generative AI and other emerging technologies prompt us to rethink the underlying justifications and main framework of exclusive rights and exceptions in copyright law?
More specifically, how does generative AI challenge core copyright principles and doctrines such as reproduction, originality, substantial part, duration, fair dealing?
The Symposium and Workshop’s main goal is to further develop a research agenda in this area of study through the benefits of an interdisciplinary approach, gathering researchers from across different disciplines and with different perspectives to address these challenging and critical questions. The selected participants will be invited to contribute to a book project / collection of essays to be published in a leading academic journal/press.
NOTE: Limited funding may be available for selected participants to cover travel and accommodation costs.
CONFERENCE ORGANIZERS
If you have any questions about the conference or this Call for Abstracts, please contact the conference organizers:
Pascale Chapdelaine, Associate Professor, University of Windsor Faculty of Law and Director of the LTEC Lab chapdel@uwindsor.ca
Carys Craig, Professor and Director of IP Osgoode, Osgoode Law School, York University CCraig@osgoode.yorku.ca
Myra Tawfik, Distinguished University Professor Emerita, University of Windsor Faculty of Law mjt@uwindsor.ca
Ariel Katz, Associate Professor Faculty of Law, University of Toronto ariel.katz@utoronto.ca
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