On 26 April, IPA Secretary General spoke online with an audience of Canadian publishers about the current global copyright situation. Organised through the Canadian Copyright Institute in conjunction with IPA member the Association of Canadian Publishers and the Association of English-language Publishers of Quebec (AELAQ), the session was presented as a ‘Copyright 101 webinar’ the week following World Book and Copyright Day and on World IP Day.

Borghino spoke of the current threats to copyright, especially for educational publishers, emanating from a worldwide campaign by Copyleft activists and their fellow travelers, ultimately orchestrated and funded by the deep pockets of the giant internet platforms. This campaign targets and seeks to undermine copyright because it is seen as an impediment to the business models of these huge corporations that profit mainly from advertising revenues and would prefer not to pay for content at all.

The webinar was moderated by former ACP President, Glenn Rollans, and included Quebecois publisher Gilles Herman giving the perspective from the provincial level, and Roanie Levy, the Director of the Canadian RRO, Access Copyright, giving a national overview.