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!
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!
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. :-)
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.
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
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.
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.
...but my english is awful and my french is even worse...
You could be our next Prime Minister.
Trolling is a art,
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.