The Copyright Act currently has a general prohibition on the circumvention of “Technological Protection Measures” (TPM’s). TPM’s are defined as technologies which, in the ordinary course of their operation, control access to a work or restrict a user from exercising any of the copyright owner’s exclusive rights. An example of a TPM is the encryption of a work (e.g., a movie or software program).

Two new bills that recently received royal ascent will introduce new exceptions to TPM circumvention in Canada. These new exceptions are aimed at supporting the right to repair.

Bill C-244 introduces an exception to the prohibition on TPM circumvention if the circumvention is done “for the sole purpose of maintaining or repairing a product, including any related diagnosing” if the TPM forms part of that product.

Bill C-294 amends an existing exception to the prohibition on TPM circumvention, and permits circumvention of a TPM if it is done to make “[a] program or a device in which it is embedded interoperable with any other computer program, device or component”.