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Canadian Law Profs Counter CRIA Propaganda
An anonymous reader writes "The Globe and Mail reports that Canadian law professors have countered the Canadian recording industry's misinformation campaign in a new 600-page book that is being made freely available under a creative commons license. Led by Professor Michael Geist, the book provides full coverage of the possibility of Canada adopting DMCA-like copyright laws." From the article: "The 19 copyright law professors, in a peer-reviewed discussion edited by Ottawa lawyer and Internet columnist Michael Geist, note that revisions to copyright law in the past were largely the result of negotiations among copyright stakeholders; today, however, the broader public is also demanding a seat at the table. 'The public's interest in copyright something inconceivable even a few years ago is the result of the remarkable confluence of computing power, the Internet, and a plethora of new software programs, all of which has not only enabled millions to create their own songs, movies, photos, art, and software but has also allowed them to efficiently distribute their creations electronically without the need for traditional distribution systems,' the book says."
So it is more than never the time to go after your candidates and grill them on the subject. The more public, the better!
Do not count on the private TV networks to expose this to the public; aim the majority of your efforts towars the government owned (but not controlled) CBC.
Canada has it easy. Look at us in Australia, we accepted a free trade agreement with the US complete with the DMCA.
The easy part was getting the brain out, but the hard part was getting the brain out.
I'm also realistic enough to know that the majority are downloading music they've never paid for. Which brings up another question: If I bought a vinyl album 20 years ago, do I have the right to have those songs? I know the answer.
In Canada you have the right to copy those songs off the album into whatever form you like, for your own personal use. You probably also have that right in the US, but it's not explicitly in the law, and it hasn't been tested in court, as far as I know.
In Canada you also have the right to copy them from somewhere else (say your album is scratched, or whatever), again for your personal use. In the US you don't.
In fact, in Canada this applies to songs whether you bought the album or not. The CRIA is wrong when it talks about "illegal downloads". As long as you're downloading for your own use, it's not illegal.
booklets, brochures, etc. handed to the public can be derived from this book. The point is that the book can now be used as a reference, a cornerstone needed to provide the facts (as opposed to opinions) about copyright.
Think of the book as "The Copyright Bible".
Umm... yes. With the Conservatives voting against ALL confidence bills and a minority government, the NDP is very relevant.
As for where they stand, I don't think they have an official policy (yet), but I've spoken personally with both Jack Layton and Jean Crowder and both probably would share opinions with many of the lawyers in the book.
As for the Green Party, they have no seats in Parliament.