Canadian Recording Industry Goes After P2P Users

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Canadian Recording Industry Goes After P2P Users

Posted by michael on Friday February 13, 2004 @05:43AM from the america-in-miniature dept.

Txiasaeia writes "Taking its cue from its American counterpart, the CRIA (Canadian Recording Industry Association) has begun the hunt for music file swappers. Unlike the RIAA, the CRIA are trying to find 29 (!) swappers only who use either Shaw, Telus, Rogers Cable, Bell Sympatico or Quebec's Videotron. Some companies like Shaw are openly opposing the request, whereas others, like Videotron, are pretty much planning on rolling over once the paperwork is done. Videotron customers beware: they say that they're 'actually delighted that the CRIA is doing what it's doing.' Arguments in the case begin on Monday in Toronto."

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But the practice is illegal in the U.S.?! by LostCluster · 2004-02-13 05:45 · Score: 5, Interesting

Article sez:
For example, it has been legal in Canada since 1998 to make a single copy of a recording for personal use, such as copying a CD onto your hard drive or MP3 player. But the practice is illegal in the U.S.

Uh. Did I miss something? Did MP3 ripping from CD get banned in the USA while we weren't looking?
1. Re:But the practice is illegal in the U.S.?! by garcia · 2004-02-13 05:50 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  the longer something is reported incorrectly the more people believe it to be true.
  
  Just ask the Slashbots.
2. Re:But the practice is illegal in the U.S.?! by Loki_1929 · 2004-02-13 05:51 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  "Uh. Did I miss something? Did MP3 ripping from CD get banned in the USA while we weren't looking?"
  
  It's more of a grey area in the US, especially since the DMCA. While it has historically been viewed as 'fair use' to create a backup copy of a copyrighted work, circumvention of a copy protection scheme (no matter how pathetic and ineffective it may be) was made illegal by the DMCA. Also, many CDs ship with a EULA of some sort, which often prohibits creating even a single copy of the works contained within.
  
  Essentially, it's something for which arguments could be made either way based on previous rulings and copyright laws, but it's something which would probably never actually be prosecuted.
  
  --
  -- "Government is the great fiction through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else."
3. Re:But the practice is illegal in the U.S.?! by 503 · 2004-02-13 05:53 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  As far as I know, making a personal copy of your own CD is still legal in the US. In Canada, however, you are allowed to make a personal copy of an album that you don't own.
  
  In other words, I can borrow a friend's new CD and make a copy with no laws being broken.
4. Re:But the practice is illegal in the U.S.?! by operagost · 2004-02-13 06:04 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  There is no bypassing of encryption or other protections here (unless you count the idiot bit that's ignored by everything), so the DMCA doesn't apply. Also, ANALOG and digital copies to DAT (perhaps also MD, not sure) are explicity permitted by the home recording act.
  
  --
  
  Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
5. Re:But the practice is illegal in the U.S.?! by glucose · 2004-02-13 06:43 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  Here's a link to the The "Blank CD-R Tax" FAQ, which is a pretty complete FAQ on copyright with regards to CDs in Canada. The short answer is, there's a levy on all media (like CD-Rs, mp3 players, etc), but a provision the law that enacts the levy allows you to make a copy from the original for personal use.
6. Re:But the practice is illegal in the U.S.?! by Proaxiom · 2004-02-13 06:46 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  It's not an urban legend, it's actually the law. The Copyright Act was amended with the change in 1998. You can copy any music you want, as long as you don't give the copy away (or sell it).
  It's also the reason we have the retarded levy on blank media (CDs, tapes, etc.). It's a misconception that the extra fee is supposed to cover losses due to piracy, it's actually supposed to cover losses due to legal copying.
  It wouldn't be such a bad thing except for the stupidity of taxing media that are used for things other than music. Why system administrators should have to pay a levy to the music industry in order to archive data to CD is a bit hazy.
  It's also a tad mysterious as to why this law applies exclusively to music, and no other copyrighted works.
7. Re:But the practice is illegal in the U.S.?! by Deliveranc3 · 2004-02-13 07:44 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Watching you techies trying to understand the dichonomy between the practice and intent of law is like watching a Lawyer try and install GenToo
  :)
8. Re:But the practice is illegal in the U.S.?! by skahshah · 2004-02-13 07:56 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Not only 70% of Americans thought there was a link between Saddam Hussein and 9/11, but 98% now think it is normal to ask to prove a negative (rarely possible).
It's not so bad by sdcharle · 2004-02-13 05:46 · Score: 5, Funny

Turns out they're only prosecuting if less than 80% of your pirated mp3s are not by Canadian artists.
Oh wait a minute, that is pretty bad.
Levies already! by morcheeba · 2004-02-13 05:47 · Score: 5, Informative

This is the country that already has some pretty high media levies based on the assumption that illegal copies are being made. It's currently $0.21 (data CD) and $0.77 (audio CD), but there are proposed increases, including an $840 levy on each 40GB iPod! ($0.021/MB)

--
HIV Crosses Species Barrier... into Muppets
Not surprised by Videotron by Tester · 2004-02-13 05:47 · Score: 5, Informative

I'm not surprised at all that Videotron would support that. They are owned by Quebec's biggest (only big) media conglomerate, Quebecor.. Which is also the world's largest printer (Quebecor World), but that's pretty separate from Quebecor Media...

So Quebecor media also owns, appart from Videotron (cable), the biggest TV network (TVA), the most read newspapers (Le journal de Montreal and Le journal de Quebec), quite a few magasines and more importantly in this case, Musicor.. a record label.. They are not well known outside Quebec though, because all of their media are in French... but they are THE dominant player in Quebec...
Only a matter of time .... by IamGarageGuy+2 · 2004-02-13 05:49 · Score: 5, Insightful

Why does Canada have to imitate the U.S. in all things? It would be nice to have our government to take a stand against the oppressive RIAA and stop this litigation before it gets going too far. The Canadian people do not want Big Brother to be accusing and convicting the 12 year old swappers like the U.S.

--
Stay tuned for new sig...
*Yawn* by SuperBanana · 2004-02-13 05:51 · Score: 5, Funny

Taking its cue from its American counterpart, the CRIA (Canadian Recording Industry Association) has begun the hunt for music file swappers.
Next up: Sun rises, sun sets.
Anyone else getting really tired of reading about *IAA? We're all well aware of the issues involved, I don't really see the need for this to be front page material nearly every day.
Let's have some priorities, please. Like our daily SCO story...siiigh. It's times like these that I wish we had voting rights like Kuro5hin, because every morning I load slashdot, I have trouble telling whether it's actually new news, or the same 2-3 topics over and over.

--
Please help metamoderate.
Re:You have to laugh by tundog · 2004-02-13 05:56 · Score: 5, Funny

when you see an industry suing their customers, i can't wait till this spreads to other industries

You must be new here. You can pay your $699 on your way out.

--
All your base are belong to us!
Media Levies by AttillaTheNun · 2004-02-13 05:58 · Score: 5, Insightful

Does this mean the CRIA is going to rebate or cancel the levies I pay on every CD-R I buy so that I can presumably burn CRIA content?
Time for the slashdot two-step by mumblestheclown · 2004-02-13 06:00 · Score: 5, Funny

Scenario 1A: Copyright holder uses police to go after copyright infringers.
Slashdot Response: "Why do the police have to do the **AA's dirtywork! This is blah blah blah corporate shills blah blah blah."
Scenario 1B: Copyright holder privately goes after copyright infringers.
Slashdot response: "Can you believe the nerve of these people. This is what the police are for! blah blah blah nazi stormtroopers blah blah blah."

Scenario 2A: New, obviously-designed-primarily-for-warez-pr0n-and-mp 3z-technology emerges.
Slashdot Response: "Technology is blameless! Go after the infringers, but leave technology alone!"
Scenario 2B: Infringers gone after.
Slashdot Response: "Can you believe the nerve of those people shaking down college students!"

Scenario 3A: Copyright is used to protect somebody else's intellectual property
Slashdot Response: Copyright has outlived its usefulness! Viva la revolucion!
Scenario 3B: the GPL is violated.
Slashdot Response: Hang em high!
Re:What exactly is illegal? by CaptIronfist · 2004-02-13 06:01 · Score: 5, Informative

In Canada downloading music from the net is legal. Owning music on your hard drive for which you do not have the original CD is also legal.

What is illegal is uploading (sharing) songs which you do not have distribution permission from the copyright holder to the general public. For example, if i open a private FTP site and i prove that only my friends have access to it, then it falls neatly under 'fair use' clause. More concretly if i go to my friends house and rip all my music on his computer, this falls under 'fair use' also.

The Canadian copyright act is also a reason why the CRIA gets a levy on blank medias and hard drives and can't sue file swappers as efficiently as the RIAA. Hence the 29(!). lol.

Don't take this as a legal advice though i could be wrong, or it could cost you a lot to defend this position. ;-)
Re:the last laugh by Dashing+Leech · 2004-02-13 06:04 · Score: 5, Informative

Actually, that's quite ironic. Leeching is pretty much the only legal way to do it in Canada. You can download from P2P legally, but not distribute (share).
(If anybody is going to contest this, at least do a search first on previous Slashdot stories. This has been covered many times and even the Copyright Board of Canada has ruled that downloading is legal, but distributing is not.)
Re:aw crap by Deliveranc3 · 2004-02-13 06:06 · Score: 5, Interesting

Despite all the arguements I think this whole thing is pretty increadible. The Canadian government has been taxing media and using the funds gathered to pay artists. Now they are allowing the RIAA to pursue a legal recourse (albeit through nominally Canadian channels). It appears Paul Martin is Bushs .

Canada has a pretty decent history of not prosecuting laws that are still being debated (While weed legalization was being discussed police stopped small scale arrests,[Still busted some big grows]) I don't think there are any (Canadian, American's are stupid) politicians who don't have doubts about enforcing the ridiculous American IP laws.

My only conclusion is that this issue has been sacrificed as part of a deal. I'm enough of a realist to know that deals of this nature need to be struck. I don't think that whoever allowed this to happen realizes the consequences.

First we are bowing to the American's in such a way as to forever compromise Canada's reputation as an honest unbiased power (Lester B. Pearson, etc.), second we are an example to other countries. If we fold IP law will remain restrictive and useless until society once again returns to a sane level of socialism or another technological breakthrough on the order of magnitude of the internet takes place causing people to reconsider intellectual property. (Trying to think of something that fits this description leads me to a short list.) Either way you are condemning people in the third world to ignorance and poverty for another hundred years, the death toll is on your head. Depending on how seriously you think knowledge = power = life, Paul Martin might be worse than Hitler.

Simple form: Paul, if you are willing to negotiate our intellectual freedom we may decide to negotiate for it back, is one life too much to pay?
Intimidation campaign by meanfriend · 2004-02-13 06:11 · Score: 5, Interesting

From the article:
But under the Copyright Act, it remains illegal to give or sell a CD copy to a friend, since it's not for personal use. In the same vein, distributing copies to friends online is prohibited.
and a related article:
Canada deems P2P downloading legal
I'm in Canada and I've sampled a number of songs from the binary newsgroups: alt.binaries.sounds.mp3.* as the law allows me to (for now)
That's not a P2P service, obviously, but from the ISPs own newservers. So wouldnt the ISP make a better target? After all, arent they distributing content to 900,000+ subscribers (according to the article)?? Think of the damages one could claim against an ISP if they were found guilty of copyright infringement on that scale.
Why pick out 29 individuals to pursue legal recourse? Because it's about fear and publicity. These 29 people are not likely to have the inclination, resources, or will to fight an expensive legal battle. Like the RIAA cases, they will settle for a couple thousand $ and a press conference where they tearfully apologize for thier wrongdoings. Fellow canadians who do not follow the legal aspect of such issues closely will simply hear 'file sharers get sued' and freak out and think the downloading music is wrong: mission accomplished. Will the press make the point that personal copying in Canada is LEGAL when reporting these stories? Possibly, but I'm not betting on it.
Frowned upon by certain "people" by gearheadsmp · 2004-02-13 06:21 · Score: 5, Informative

MP3's are frowned upon by certain "people". In fact, these "people" have setup a web site for consumers who are "confused" about file sharing. They even have a message board, which I strongly encourage you to post there about your opinion of the RIAA. This was orignally mentioned in orthogonal's journal.
Re:Call Quebecor's Luc Lavoie to complain by TheTomcat · 2004-02-13 06:28 · Score: 5, Informative

Luc Lavoie
executive vice-president - Corporate Affairs
Quebecor inc.
Office : (514) 380- 1974
Mobile : (514) 236- 8742
lavoie.luc@quebecor.com

Yeah, this is the actual contact info, see the end of this page..

S