Struggle for Canadian Copyright, The: Imperialism to Internationalism, 1842-1971

First signed in 1886, the Berne Convention for the Protection of
Literary and Artistic Works was the world's first broadly
multilateral treaty on copyright. It is still the cornerstone of
international copyright law today.

At the centre of The Struggle for Canadian Copyright is
Canada's experience with the Berne Convention. Set
against the backdrop of Canada's development from a British
colony into a so-called middle power, this book reveals the deep roots
of conflict in the international copyright system that continue to
divide "developed" and developing countries. Canada's
signing of the convention can be viewed in the context of a former
British colony's efforts to join and engage with a community made
up of the world's most powerful nations. Throughout the past
century, Canada's copyright policy has been used to portray the
country to the world, first as a British colony and subsequently as a
sovereign country, a good global citizen, and a middle power. In this
groundbreaking book, Sara Bannerman examines Canada's struggle
for copyright sovereignty and explores some of the problems rooted in
imperial and international copyright that affect Canadians to this
day.Sara Bannerman is an assistant professor at
McMaster University.