The User-Generated Content Exception: Moving Away from a Non-Commercial Requirement

Résumé :

The non-commercial user-generated content (UGC) exception to copyright infringement in section 29 .21 of the Canadian Copyright Act allows individuals to use copyright-protected works to create new content for non-commercial purposes . One major flaw in this exception is that it conflates non-commercial use with amateur creation . The distinction between amateur non-commercial use and professional commercial use is arbitrary and cannot sustain itself in modern technological practices . This article argues that the proper focus of the UGC exception should be on the level of originality of the UGC and its effect on the source material as opposed to its non-commercial or amateur nature .