Slashdot Mirror
Canada Says No To DMCA
P Starrson writes "
The Canadian government has reportedly said no to the DMCA. It
released its plans
for copyright reform today with a limited anti-circumvention provision
that would not cover the likes of DeCSS. It even avoided the U.S.
"notice and takedown system" that has caused a big headache for U.S.
ISPs. A good summary is available from Canadian law professor Michael Geist. "
Seriously, why can't the US government learn to keep their noses out of every aspect in our lives?!
IGB: More fun than eating oatmeal!
1-0 for me being Canadian.
Emigrate. It`s not too late!
Eureka Science News - automatically updated
Good to see the Canada being more realistic and more free about stuff like this.
Sorry, I had a little something in my throat.
OMG! Wau!
Go us! Now the question on everybody's mind up here is: with our refusal to put our official support behind the missile defense program and now this, how long before the border closes up completely?
I'll be honest, we're throwing science against the wall to see what sticks. -Cave Johnson
Canada says no to DMC, eh?
Is hip-hop not popular over there or something?
Mother, do you think they'll like this sig?
Does NAFTA allow us to say no?
Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom (and its a PITA).
Government of Canada Unveils Plans for Copyright Reform
Industry Canada and Canadian Heritage, the two departments responsible for copyright policy in Canada, this morning released a joint statement on plans for copyright reform. There is an additional FAQ that fleshes out the issues. A bill is expected this spring and the statement spells out where Canada is headed. The key points include:
1. The government will implement the WIPO Internet treaties. Note that the government now speaks of implementing, rather than formally ratifying, the treaties. They indicate that they will consider ratification after this bill is passed.
2. The package will include an anti-circumvention provision applied to copyright material. There is no mention of extending the provision to devices (as is the case in the U.S.) and the specific reference to applying the provision to copyright material suggests that the provision will limit its applicability to circumvention to commit copyright infringement. The rights management information is similarly limited to instances to "further or conceal copyright infringement." While no anti-circumvention provision would be better, this suggests that the Canadian provision will feature some real balance.
Moreover, the FAQ makes clear that "the circumvention of a TPM applied to copyright material will only be illegal if it is carried out with the objective of infringing copyright. Legitimate access, as authorized by the Copyright Act, will not be altered." This is very different from anti-circumvention provisions found in the U.S. However, the FAQ also notes that circumvention for the purposes of private copying will not be permitted, meaning people may find themselves paying for a CD and paying a levy on blank CD yet unable to make the copy of the underlying CD.
3. The recording industry gets some of their package - a making available right and a full reproduction right for performers.
4. A "notice and notice" system for ISPs rather than notice and takedown. Canadian ISPs will only be required to notify their subscriber of an infringement claim, not take the content down as is found in the U.S. The ISP will be required to retain subscriber information, however to ensure that it is available should litigation later arise.
This is a major development as it implements a much fairer system than that found in the U.S. (or even the more draconian notice and termination system that CRIA raised last spring). The FAQ argues that this system is better suited to a P2P world, since notice and takedown simply doesn't work for P2P.
5. The photographers' copyright issue will also be addressed. It is not entirely clear how the reform will address the commissioning of photographs issue - an exception for private or domestic commissions is contemplated, but this one that really requires the legislative language. No word either on what will happen with the stalled Senate bill on this issue.
6. As previously reported, the extended license for Internet materials has been shelved for now with a consultation on the issue planned for this year.
7. The Act will include new provisions to facilitate electronic delivery of materials within schools and libraries. This is viewed as addressing the user side of the equation. It's a start but obviously user rights don't command the same attention as the rights holder groups.
8. Other major issues for immediate consultation include private copying and broadcasters rights.
The devil will be in the details but this represents a major shift away from the embarrassingly one-sided Canadian Heritage Standing Committee recommendations issued last May. While that report clearly pushed the agenda forward, the government's response has certainly recognized the need for some balance. Lots more on these issues to come...
with the best governments always have the lousiest weather??
Here is the website... :)
http://www.cic.gc.ca/
No sig for now.
... The *new* Land of the Free. :-)
"the circumvention of a TPM applied to copyright material will only be illegal if it is carried out with the objective of infringing copyright. Legitimate access, as authorized by the Copyright Act, will not be altered."
That sounds like it will allow the creation and sale of mod chips as long as they are used legally. Though, it doesn't allow private copying which means that cracking iTunes for personal use is still not legal.
--
Want a free iPod?
Or try a free Nintendo DS, GC, PS2, Xbox. (you only need 4 referrals)
Wired article as proof
Hopefully that'll redeem Canada from all the recent bad press it got on Slashdot!
:P
What are you talking about? Slashdot and its readership are primarally American. As far as I'm concerned, if they don't like how we're running things up here, that's a sign that we're doing things right
Give it time... between this, the marijuana-reform legislation and the gay and lesbian marriges we'll be part of the Axis of Evil in no time, and they'll start contemplating dropping nuclear-waste-I-mean-bunker-buster-bombs on us too.
-1 Uncomfortable Truth
True genius is grasping a situation like a peice of fruit, and peircing it just right so that it drains dry.
Oh, you're the government?
Could you kinda like, um, stop sucking? I'll wave a flag or whatever, maybe even say something nice about the President, but please, stop sucking.
IGB: More fun than eating oatmeal!
You modded down my anti-Canadian comment? Terrorist.
-py
Yeah, a grow op of 20 plants on the property of a man with nearly a dozen charges of assault, uttering threats, threatening a police officer, firing a gun within city limits, driving infractions, and who was known to be less than stable. He'd sworn, on several occaisions, to kill people who angered him. The guy was a nut job, and in spite of all this, he had no problems buying all the guns he wanted from the government. Blaming this on weed is like blaming World War II on the German sausages causing indigestion.
I like to place meaningful quotes in my sig, so people will know that I know what meaningful quotes are.
First "USA - North" say they won't participate in our beloved Star Wars, and now they refuse to embrace our holy copyright law?!
I hope they know what the price of defiance is, and I think I speak for the rest of Jebusland when I say, "Let's roll!"
I expect your people will greet us with Flowers and Candies, too.
Yeah, right.
This, coming from someone whose entire sig is an attempt to scam people. Nice.
Plain and simple, while these ppl are trying to change the law to their advantage, it is politicians who are doing so. ppl like Utah's senator, Hatch. Many do it not because it is good for America, but because they are gaining personally. That is bad politics.
In other cases, Politicians will do something as a cause and try to make it look like they are doing the right thing, when in reality they know it is wrong, but simply wish to have something for the election.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
Plus they were there because of a stolen vehicle, not because of the grow op.
However, the FAQ also notes that circumvention for the purposes of private copying will not be permitted, meaning people may find themselves paying for a CD and paying a levy on blank CD yet unable to make the copy of the underlying CD.
If I buy a CD, I have every right to make a backup copy of that. Its called fair use. If I have to circumvent security to exercise my rights as a citizen and consumer, then I am circumventing a system which is trying to PREVENT me from exercising my rights. So what takes precendence? Fair use or DRM, which will take a higher precedence in a Canadian Court of law?
Feed the need: Digitaladdiction.net
Sorry, I missed that. I forgot why they had been called out there. The guy investigating about the vehicle had been told by the psycho that "if he came back with cops, he'd kill them." The guy came back with cops. He killed them. He was an honest psycho.
I like to place meaningful quotes in my sig, so people will know that I know what meaningful quotes are.
That movie was *way* to far fetched. I mean, what are the odds that a US President would invade some foreign country they know next-to-nothing about on completely made up "evidence", just to increase the popularity of the President? Seriously people, get a grip on reality.
501 Not Implemented
Hey. I'm not a lumberjack, or a fur trader.
And I don't live in an igloo, or eat blubber, or own a dogsled.
And I don't know Jimmy, Sally or Suzy from Canada, although I'm certain they're really, really nice.
I have a Prime Minister, not a President.
I speak English and French, NOT American. and I pronounce it 'ABOUT', NOT 'A BOOT'.
I can proudly sew my country's flag on my backpack. I believe in peace keeping, NOT policing. DIVERSITY, NOT assimilation, AND THAT THE BEAVER IS A TRULY PROUD AND NOBLE ANIMAL.
A TOQUE IS A HAT, A CHESTERFIELD IS A COUCH, AND IT IS PRONOUCED 'ZED' NOT 'ZEE', 'ZED'!!!
CANADA IS THE SECOND LARGEST LANDMASS! THE FIRST NATION OF HOCKEY! AND THE BEST PART OF NORTH AMERICA!
MY NAME IS JOE!! AND I AM CANADIAN!!!!!!!!
Thank you.
Want to improve your Karma? Instead of "Post Anonymously", try the "Post Humously" option.
As for the by-products control, the thing was, seven years ago Canada banned using animal by-products as animal feed. The cows that the States got were seven years old, and had been raised for the first few months of their life on the LAST few months of animal by-product feed process. These were the LAST possible cows who could have gotten Mad Cow from the feed, and they did, and we gave them to you guys. One in a million shot, doctor... one in a million.
I like to place meaningful quotes in my sig, so people will know that I know what meaningful quotes are.
Can record companies (Canadian equiv. of [MPRI]{2}AA) sue p2p users sharing music and movies?
Currently no. Once this act is passed, yes they can. The ISP is obligated to maintain sufficent records to identify the subscriber for a period of time.
Relevent documentation from Proposed changes:
Upon receipt of a notice, ISPs would also be required to keep a record of relevant information for a specified time. Rights holders would have the legal means to compel ISPs to comply with the regime.
AND
(FAQ)
This will clarify that the unauthorized posting or the peer-to-peer file-sharing of material on the Internet will constitute an infringement of copyright.
Can users copy records/movies for private use?
Currently yes. After this act is passed, yes BUT users are not allowed to legally bypass any restrictions (DRM) in order to do so. That becomes illegal.
Relevent documentation from Proposed changes:
The Act's private copying regime provides for an exception to copyright that permits the making of a copy of a sound recording for private use
BUT... not everything is good: (from FAQ)
The bill will also contain legal protections for technological protection measures (encryptions, password requirements) and rights management systems containing information for the purpose of tracking uses of works. The removal of or tampering with such measures for the purpose of infringing copyright will itself constitute an infringement of copyright.
What this looks like is basically opening the door to lawsuits for record companies, making file sharing illegal and closing the door on consumers being able to turn off DRM to make a copy of a CD or movie for themselves.
How is this not DMCA?
Je n'ai comprend pas.
Now I guess I need to start taking back all of those bad things I said about Canada.
LK
"Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
All the evangelicals, racists, and conservatives go to the US. And all the sane people go to canada.
Done! We're already a step ahead of you, eh.
Despite the cheery headline, there are still some lamentable changes being proposed. Chiefly, protection for TPMs (Technological Protections Measures, or DRM) in the same vein as the DMCA are being sought, because, you know, they worked so well in chilling innovation and fostering anti-competitive practices in the USA. Reverse-engineering and circumvention of protection measures will be illegal, unless not for the purpose of facilitating infringement, but that's the kind of purpose that can only be determined after a lengthy trial...
And the "notice and takedown" provison is being avoided, but a "notice and notice" provision is being sought, which is slightly less problematic (it does not require immediate removal of the allegedly infringing material) but there are still provisions being sought that require an ISP to facilitate the process of finding and suing potential infringers.
The gov't clearly wants to restrict the definition of "publicly available" material on the internet, and expand the licensing agreement between educational institutions and content providers (read: more money flows from students to copyright holders). If you are a private individual and not a student, there is to date no mention of how you might legally copy information available on the internet.
And finally, there is no indication yet on the direction the gov't wants to go with our oft-cherised "private copying" right, which currently may or may not apply to downloading music onto your computer. (No, it is not clearly legal in Canada, despite what newspapers and other slashdot posters say. It's just very hard to identify and sue infringers.)
So, there is all that to consider.
Actually, Hatch is both. He owns and collects royalties on a catalog of songs he's written. He just happens to be in a unique position to (theoretically) help himself out by enforcing copyright.
-Dan
Blaming this on weed is like blaming World War II on the German sausages causing indigestion.
Not really. Think about it.
Scenario 1: Pot is legal. You grow pot. You sell pot. You smoke pot. You pay your taxes and uphold the law. The cops don't bother you.
Would you shoot a cop?
Scenario 2: Pot is illegal. If you are caught selling it, you get a large fine and possibly some jail time. If you are caught using it, you get a small fine. You grow pot. You sell pot. You smoke pot. Cops have been tipped off and are coming for you, and if you get caught you face a $20,000 fine up to a year in jail.
Would you shoot a cop?
Scenario 3: Pot is illegal. If you are caught selling it, you go to jail for 20 years. If you are caught using it, you are sent to jail for 3 years. You grow pot. You sell pot. You smoke pot. Cops have been tipped off and are coming for you, and if you get caught you go away for the rest of your life.
Would you shoot a cop?
It appears, because of this event, that they will be shelving legistlation to reduce the penalties involved in marijuana. Does anyone else think this is really stupid, or is it just me?
-1 Uncomfortable Truth
Having lived in both places, I'd definitely say that Canada has a far superior health care system. Lets just put it this way, if you are in the USA, you are only one major health issue from bankruptcy - even if you are making 6 figures.
I know you were probably joking, but why let an opportunity to correct a misconception slip by?
...but my english is awful and my french is even worse...
You could be our next Prime Minister.
Trolling is a art,
... Ernst Zundel was deported after about 30 years' worth of extradition requests from Germany, where he was wanted for publishing documents that denied the holocaust.
Now, the last thing I want to do is give somebody a reason to invoke Godwin's law, but for crying out quietly, 30 years' worth of extradition requests and we only now get rid of the jackass?
Free Speech (tm) exists in Canada, and I have *never* had cause to believe that we're more draconian than anybody else. For one thing, we never produced a Joe McCarthy....
If you believe everything you read, you'd better not read. - Japanese proverb
A"notice and notice" regime in relation to the hosting and file sharing activities of an ISP's subscribers would be provided for. That is, when an ISP receives notice from a rights holder that one of its subscribers is allegedly hosting or sharing infringing material, the ISP would be required to forward the notice to the subscriber. Blocking access to such material would be required only when ordered by a court. Upon receipt of a notice, ISPs would also be required to keep a record of relevant information for a specified time. Rights holders would have the legal means to compel ISPs to comply with the regime. The Government would have the power to prescribe the form that must be used in giving notices and to set fees that may be required to be paid by rights holders to ISPs for processing such notices.
I think this is about as fair a system as you can get. ISPs are protected as carriers of information. Rightsholders are able to proceed with civil actions, but the removal of information requires the finding of a court. And everyone is protected (to some extent) from overzealous rightsholders by the possibility of a "processing fee" to compensate ISPs for their trouble.
In Soviet America the banks rob you!
As a Canadian I find that very offensive! We're freedom hating socialists and don't you forget it!
If it can be argued that the person you got the DVD movie you've downloaded from was in Canada, there's nobody to sue in the chain of DMCA violations, only in the copying of copyrighted content violations. The Canadian user could DeCSS the content for you.
What I'm curious about now is whether this will lead to an identifier (maybe another DVD region?), for Canada, in the next format, but such that ripped content could be identified.
as good as this for Canada, I'd do better lobbying my own countries' politicans for reasonable copyright and against new DMCA like "copyright police state" laws which the enterntainment is lobbying for, than posting on and reading /. where most people share a more reasonable stance on the subject anyway (even if the entertainment industrie's "We're the good guys and they're the bad guys" - Propaganda did take its toll among the /. population) .
i .html ; they're mostly bureaucrat-, lobbyist-, marketing- and lawyer-leeches that try to port and impose an inefficient and obsolete distribution system to the information age and restrict new technology and misemploy them to gain even more control, regardless of the damage to society it would cause. Think what could happen a tcpa/palladium (tcg/ngscb) like control technology gets mandated into every computer to enforce copyrights and DRM and then a not-perfectly-good government decides to increasingly use it for suveillance, censorship and control purposes.
They're not. Not the big labels at least. http://www.ram.org/ramblings/philosophy/fmp/albin
He may be illiterate and a self-titled jerk, but he does have a point. Which senators sponsor legislation like the DMCA come from? They happen to be from areas of the country that want to ban violent video games, make schools more like prisons than learning institutions, and let people sue pencil makers for poking themselves in their stupid, stupid eyes.
"No beer until you finish your tequila!" -Leela's Dad
Nice to see that Canada once again has decided not be the US' bitch.
"I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence or insanity but they've always worked for me" - HST
Don't tempt US.
The whole grow op angle bugged me from the getgo, especially when it was disclosed the original reason the cops were there was nothing to do with the pot, they just discovered that during the search for stolen property that had taken them there.
Of course the RCMP are playing up the pot as much as possible since it is in their vested interest for the current laws to remain and/or tougher laws to be on the books. They were among the first to put up a stink when the government said it was looking to lessen charges involving weed.
All for a plant that some guy in the 20's didn't really like and he used a bunch of false information to make it illegal. Reefer Madness anyone?
It is a plant! I cannot believe we as a species are so holier than thou that we think we can declare entire plant species as "illegal". Pathetic waste of tax monies enforcing it and it amounts to little but a make work project for those in society who believe they have the right to dictate what others can and cannot do to their bodies.
Nobody has overdosed and died from smoking weed, meanwhile thousands die every year from alcohol poisoning, go figure.
Even bankruptcy won't help, as Congress is about to vote April 6th on the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005.
Aptly named, the act "protects" banks and lenders from those nasty middle-class comsumers who lose their jobs, whose families break up, and who suffer unforeseen medical emergencies.
Any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so.
The border is already effectively closed as far as I'm concerned. The USA has REPEATEDLY lost their battles over softwood tariffs and beef import restrictions and yet the politicians down there are still blocking imports by simply throwing up new laws/rules that they *know* will eventually be struck down again. NAFTA is a complete failure from the Canadian perspective as the "free flow of goods and services" is apparently only a one-way deal.
There is a growing sentiment up here that we should no longer offer the USA preferential access to our natural resources. If you don't want our lumber or our beef, why should we be paying high electric rates to subsidise California? Why should we be shipping our fresh water south by the truckload?
I (and many other Canadians) have stopped going to the USA on vacation. I now give my tourist dollars to countries in Asia, Europe and elsewhere.
Well, weather permitting, I would have to say the grass _does_ seem greener on our side of the fence.
An example of free speech: we don't get called unpatriotic and/or labelled a terrorist (and thus have almost all personal rights revoked) for saying that our political leader is a dickhead. I would even dare say that it's a necessity to question the competence of our leaders, otherwise they would get away with worse stuff than they do now.
Actually I think he has a point there. Have you ever watched Tony Blaire be cross-examined on the floor of the House of Lords? I may dislike his policies, but the guy has amazing oratory skills - he defends his policies and ideas with clarity and coherence. It adds to the public discourse on complex issues. This kind of accountability of the Executive leads to a cleaner and more transparent government.
I *WANT* to see all future US Presidents have to defend themselves in front of the US Senate.
I *WANT* to see GW Bush have to defend himself to cross-examination by opposition parties on the floor of the Senate.
So yeah, I do think there's something the US can learn from British Parliament-style government.
TANSTAAFL. There Ain't No Such Thing as a Free Lunch. Canadians have traded the costs of private insurance for the costs of increased taxation, waiting lists, and overall poorer medical care. In the US I may be one cancer diagnosis away from bankruptcy, but at least I won't have to wait weeks or months to start my chemotherapy. If Canada's health care system is so superior, then why are so many Canadians coming to the US for health care?
Don't listen to me, though. Read a recent Canadian article on the subject: Canadian Health Care In Crisis.
Don't blame me, I didn't vote for either of them!
...what else can we boast about?
Progressive, tolerant society?
High standard of living?
Excellent international reputation - a beacon of peace?
Beautiful Canadian women?
Amazing landscape?
Good job opportunites?
This isn't really bad politics (at least as they are today). This actually great politics. Just happens to be bad for the country (and its people).
Unfortunatly, good politics and what is good for the people seldom intersect and politicians of course will go with good politics almost everytime.
"reality has a well-known liberal bias" - Steven Colbert
It even avoided the U.S. "notice and takedown system" that has caused a big headache for U.S. ISPs. A good summary is available from Canadian law professor Michael Geist.
ISP's did not consider the notice and takedown system a headache -- they negotiated for the provisions as a condition of their patronage of the bill!
The reason is simple: ISPs NEVER have to be liable for infringement of its users. A service provider is not responsible for certain user infringements unless and until it receives notice. Then, it is absolutely free of liability (including liability to the user for wrongful takedown) if it takes down the noticed content.
I'm not saying its a good thing, mind you. I'm saying that ISPs bargained for and like these provisions.
"Fucking Yanks".
That's what Canadians instinctively think when they hear comments such as yours. "Banana Republic, Guam, Puerto Rico". Oh, how we drool at the thought of being associated with these stellar examples of democratization, liberty and equality that the U.S. has produced.
You walk your walk and talk your talk now while you have a bit of bounce in your step. Do you really think Canada - or the world - exists purely to satisfy the needs of the U.S? Do you think you'll just invade countries and plunder what you what? Are you really that arrogant? Do you think a pendulum only swings one way? Or are you just assuming an American {New World Order | Manifest Desitiny | Reich} lasting a thousand years?
You belittle Canada's not insignificant contributions to operations in Afghanistan. (You even bombed our fucking soldiers!) You glibly predict the separation and 'assimilation' of one of the worlds leading democracies. You're just gonna 'take' our water whenever you decide you need it.
"Fucking Yanks".
No surprise at that sentiment. Man, I grew up adoring your country. Now I think that you're just pissing it away - and even worse - no one seems to give a shit. Keep it up with the hubris. I'm sure it will go a long way in appeasing the world that 'Aw, shucks. We're a peaceful, God-fearing country. We just needed a lttle [insert commodity here] is all'.