Canada’s National Digital Strategy
The Perspective of Canadian Book Publishers
The publishing industry has five objectives in the digital realm:
1. Maximize the revenue opportunity of the e‐content revolution
2. Maximize the promotional opportunity of new technology for print and e‐books
3. Participate in the development of new business models for the book industry
4. Increase the presence of Canadian books, in all formats, in Canadian schools
5. Make Canada more of a reading society, whether reading screen‐based or page‐based.
We see three directions for government in support of these objectives:
1. Protect intellectual property rights through strong copyright law, with a workable definition of “fair dealing”
2. Support risk through forward‐looking funding models such as BookNet Canada, with scope for smaller capital requirements.
3. Facilitate access to capital through more broadly based funding programs, links to private investment, a loan guarantee program, and a federal tax credit for digital and print books.