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Canada May Lose Copyright Fair-Use Rights
DotNM writes with an article from the CBC reporting that the Canadian government is considering removing fair-use rights from Canada's copyright law. From the article: "Exacerbating the situation is intense pressure from the United States, where Canada is considered a rogue when it comes to copyright and intellectual property. It still hasn't ratified a 1997 World Intellectual Property Organization copyright treaty... Two of the most controversial issues are [DRM] and the closely related technological protection measures."
now is the time for Canadians to get out there and tell their elected representatives that they don't want US copyright. Do it now, before your politicians trade your dental plan for a keg of beer for their meetings.
How we know is more important than what we know.
Exacerbating the situation is intense pressure from the United States, where Canada is considered a rogue when it comes to copyright and intellectual property.
o f-use" Canada? Are we talking about the same country?
You mean, "levy-paid-to-RIAA-on-all-blank-media-regardless-
Push Button, Receive Bacon
Will it get rid of the damn taxes on CD's?
It's harder to get fair use rights back once you lose them. Better to fight now than fight later...
The Conservative Party in Canada is always on about cutting government intervention in the economy, and then goes and supports legislative corporate welfare like Bill C60. They're clearly just out to make their media friends some more bucks.
Sadly, the biggest lie circulating is that these changes will somehow better promote "Quebec culture". There's this unfounded belief out there that more and more "protections" and "rights for creators", at the expense of their customers, will result in more content. I just don't see it.
The US has some of the most restrictive copyright legislation out there, and the slide of music sales has only just now been stemmed by paid downloads. Where are the creators and all the extra content those laws were supposed to encourage? Yeah, on Youtube.com, giving their stuff away for free, rendering all these laws moot.
If the Canadian government really wants to promote Quebec culture, work with Google to put up a Canadian bilingual version of Youtube on Google.ca. This is a no-brainer, guys...
occultae nullus est respectus musicae - originally a Greek proverb
is the most insidious thing going rght now. It has the potential to usurp most of our rights ( and not just IP type rights )
One world order, here we come ( via the backdoor )
---- Booth was a patriot ----
"It's a big black market effect and so instead of 25 per cent [of the market], it's eight per cent here. People are simply abandoning the marketplace altogether, and they've made the decision they'll just download the music and worry about how the artist gets paid later."
If you're dealing with a major record label the artist barely gets paid anyway, I doubt they see the difference.
Sounds like Canada's copyright law might be going the way of Australia's, eh. Pretty soon we'll all have to move to Sweden to be safe. Oh wait, that didn't work out so well for TBP now did it...
Canadians don't like to do anything the U.S. asks at the best of times, why would they start now? If anything, a request from the U.S. would have them do the opposite as an expression of patriotism.
Don't undere$timate the power of lobbyi$t incentive$ on politicians.
Table-ized A.I.
http://www.gc.ca/ is your friend.
BERNIER, Maxime
Parliamentary Address
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6
Telephone: (613) 992-8053
Fax: (613) 995-0687
E-Mail: Bernier.M@parl.gc.ca
Constituency Address
11535 1st Avenue, Suite 430
Saint-Georges, Quebec
G5Y 7H5
Telephone: (418) 227-2171
Fax: (418) 227-3093
1083 Vachon Boulevard North, Suite 201
Sainte-Marie, Quebec
G6E 1M8
Telephone: (418) 387-4224
Fax: (418) 387-8124
And
ODA, Beverley J. (Bev) (Conservative)
Parliamentary Address
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6
Telephone: (613) 992-2792
Fax: (613) 992-2794
E-Mail: Oda.B@parl.gc.ca
Constituency Address
68 King Street East, Unit 2
Bowmanville, Ontario
L1C 3X2
Telephone: (905) 697-1699
Fax: (905) 697-1678
Toll Free: 1-866-436-1141
Om, nomnomnom...
Bev Oda's (Canadian Heritage minister) campaign was funded by major record companies such as Universal Records. Basically the record companies are buying these new draconian laws. 'http://bevoda.ca' has recently pulled down the contact info after an obvious flood of hateful email. This has been extensively covered on http://boingboing.net/ and as usual days, weeks and months ahead of slashdot.d s_mp_in.htmly right_c.html_ ministe.htmla nadian_.htmld ents_as.html_ toronto.htmly fight_t.htmli mports_.html_ dissect.htmlw to_stop.html
http://www.boingboing.net/2006/09/11/how_hollywoo
http://www.boingboing.net/2006/11/08/canadian_cop
http://www.boingboing.net/2006/06/08/can_heritage
http://www.boingboing.net/2006/01/04/hollywoods_c
http://www.boingboing.net/2006/05/24/canadian_stu
http://www.boingboing.net/2006/01/15/editorial_in
http://www.boingboing.net/2005/09/29/canadian_cop
http://www.boingboing.net/2006/01/03/canadian_mp_
http://www.boingboing.net/2005/06/21/canadas_dmca
http://www.boingboing.net/2006/09/18/canadians_ho
I don't oppose this at all, however, first they have to refund the millions they have stolen by way of the blank media tax. As soon as I see some real money back that those motherfuckers stole from me when I bought backup media for my servers, we can talk about copyright reform.
I am waiting to hear back from you.
They made us get rid of the Avro Arrow, and now this???
rewriting history since 2109
JHC. We have to fight this all over again every fucking 1-4 years. Each time we win we only win for 1-4 years, and then we have to fight all over again.
If they win once, just once, they've won. Period.
How the fuck is this considered democracy? How are we supposed to prevent a perpetual slow glide down into tyrrany if they can keep passing more new laws forever and ever?
Have you ever heard of a law being revoked or reversed?
Canada does not use Fair-Use in its copyright laws, it uses Fair dealing and the constructs are totally different. The actual debate in Canada is should we move to adopting Fair Use or continue to use the restricted but spelled out uses of Fair Dealing.
-Ghost
You think these are rights we still have in the US? Apparently you missed the part where the DMCA makes it illegal to excercise fair use rights if there is DRM in place.
Close observers of the file say all signs point to a new regime that will improve safeguards for major music, film and media companies and artists for unpaid use of their material, but neglect to make exemptions for personal use of copyrighted content.
Bullshit! You can reform copyright laws all you want, people are still gonna record their favorite shows and share stuff on P2P. Sharing copyrighted content, for example, is at an all time high, in spite of its illegality and all those *IAA lawsuits.
Remember the US Betamax case? Yeah, if these guys had their way VCRs would be illegal. The problem is that their business runs on a static model. They seem incapable of seeing the world differently.
You can moralize all you want about the rights and wrongs of technology but it doesn't alter the fact that it's here to stay and all the laws and lawsuits in the world won't stop people from copying (and distributing). It would be funny if it wasn't so pathetically sad.
And I would like to ask all Canadian citizens reading this to do the same. ------------- It is easy to overlook the erosion of our rights when faced with more pressing social issues, but I would like to ask you for a minute of your time to consider the implications of a change that the Conservative government is planning to make to Canadian copyright law. I'm writing you as a professional software engineer who is concerned about the planned extension of Canadian copyright into what is called "Digital Rights Management." As a person who makes a living producing work which is protected under copyright, you may find it ironic that I am opposed to this legislation. One reason for this is that in reality DRM effectively creates a monopoly environment which locks out creative individuals who are not in the employ of large corporations, and empowers those corporations to engage in anti-competitive activities. It does this by forever binding the use of things rightfully purchased to the day to day wishes of these corporations. Including limiting their use to devices and software who's producers have a financial obligation to the controlling corporation. I see no reason why our government should pass laws to protect the interests of these large foreign interests, at the expense of the rights and freedoms of Canadian citizens. The very citizens whom you were elected to represent.
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The majority of our troops are in Afghanistan. The third one is rowing the submarine.
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
Fight Online -- send a letter asking for a balanced copyright reform: Visit http://www.onlinerights.ca/get_active/copyright_re form_action/
Your letter will read:
I am a constituent who cares about Canada's cultural policy, and I am writing in regard to legislative proposals for "copyright reform." During the last Parliament, Bill C-60 provided some very sensible approaches to this complicated topic, but it also left room for improvement. As you consider the issue of copyright reform, I hope that you will work to ensure that any new legislation is not a regression from the sensible policies set out in Bill C-60.
In particular, I do not believe that "digital rights management" (DRM) technologies should stop the public from making lawful uses of their legitimately acquired media. Publishers using DRM push aside the delicate balance between copyright and the rights of the public - a balance set according to an assessment of the public interest by legislators - and replace it with one-sided rules that reflect publishers' private interests. Even artists disagree with publishers' anti-consumer use of DRM, as evidenced by the recently formed Canadian Music Creators Coalition. Therefore, as in Bill C-60, new copyright reform legislation should not make it illegal to circumvent DRM for lawful purposes.
I am also concerned that the use of DRM can threaten computer security and consumer privacy, as in the recent Sony-BMG "Rootkit" fiasco. When content companies routinely use technological measures to control how people enjoy entertainment in the privacy of their own homes, I think we need protection *from* DRM more than we need protection *for* it.
These concerns are shared by a substantial and growing number of informed Canadian citizens. I hope that you will take them into account when considering any changes to Canadian copyright law. Thanks very much for your time.
For those that have no clue about Canada's current political situation, the governing Conversative party holds minority power, less than 50% of the seats in Parliament, and as such requires the votes of the other parties, the NDP, the Liberals or the Bloq Quebecois, to pass any legislation. The Liberals, which have the largest number of seats after the Conservatives, have also just elected a new, dynamic leader to head their party and he is out for blood. So, regardless of the legislation that is introduced it is going to be amended when the bill heads to committee (second reading), if it even gets that far. Once the bill heads to committee look for it to be sliced and diced by the opposition if for no other reason than to earn some political points with the public. A similar situation occured when the Liberals amended the Conservatives much vaunted crime reform bill and watered down or removed key sections of the legislation.
Stephen Dion, the new Liberal leader, has also indicated that he will not co-operate with the Conservatives on any legislative initiatives and has intimated that he will vote to bring down the government on the next confidence motion and force an election. So we may not even make it that far.
Don't hold your breath on this passing.
Make this a voting issue, and make it clear to your MP and other government representatives that it is. We have a minority government here right now, and an election is likely sooner rather than later. Issues like this could swing the balance of power, or make the difference between a majority or another minority government.
I voted CPC last election, but if they take away my fair use rights they will not get my vote again. Ever.
A petition exists which has around 2500 signatures already and is sent to parliament as new batches of signatures are received.
My letter:
Saskboy's blog is good. 9 out of 10 dentists agree.
Or the desires of a Conservative government intent on more closely aligning Canada with the US.
Yeah, but the other 112% are incorrect, which makes it nearly 87% more incorrect than blue.
The revolution will not be televised... but it will have a page on Wikipedia
Dear Ms. Oda,
y right-canada.html.
I currently live with my family in north Oshawa and I have been a resident of Durham Region for most of my life. As one of your constituents, I read with concern this article recently published by the CBC: http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2007/01/11/cop
As a consumer and a content producer (I've written software professionally for the last 15 years, including a large application that I've licensed for public use and redistribution), I believe that copyright law strikes a delicate balance between the rights of content producers and society at large. Any changes to that balance must be very carefully conceived. While I obviously can't comment on the proposed changes you are currently preparing, I would like to offer some of my concerns about where copyright reform appears to be headed.
Firstly, I believe the push behind copyright reform is coming from the film and recording industries. No other stakeholders appear to have any pressing desire to reform copyright law. The software industry, in particular, realized years ago that technological copyright protection measures (euphemistically called Digital Rights Management today) were an un-winnable arms race that served only to frustrate their legitimate customers, and for the most part have stopped the practice. They seem to be happy with going after egregious copyright violators while letting their own customers create backup copies of their purchased software in peace.
Further, I do not believe that the recording industry is acting in the interest of the artists (in fact, several prominent Canadian artists have actually said as much over the last year); instead, I believe they are trying to preserve an outmoded business model (shipping information around on CDs with trucks) against the Internet, which does the same job far more efficiently. Rather than adapt to the progress of technology (for example, by looking for ways to use the Internet to expose more artists to more fans), they have chosen instead to pressure governments to enact legislation disrupting the balance of our current copyright laws. I feel such changes, especially made in haste, will disadvantage both consumers *and* artists in favour of propping up an industry that is in decline.
As a result, I feel that any changes to copyright legislation proposed by the recording industry must be viewed with a large degree of scepticism, and that changes, if any, must be made carefully and with the full consultation of the Canadian people. I would urge you in particular to steer clear of a couple of particularly misguided concepts:
1. Canada must not implement the equivalent of the "DRM anti-circumvention" clause of the American DMCA. Laws preventing open discussion of algorithms (i.e. mathematics) are perilously close to recognizing thought-crime.
2. Canada must not reduce fair-use rights, such as the right to time- and format-shift legitimately purchased content. To do so would be to criminalize ordinary Canadians for doing things they believe they have the inherent right to do.
I thank you sincerely for your time.
John Krasnay
The Charter is a framework of rights & interpretation is what's used when launching a Charter case.
As for fair use or fair dealings, which basically means making copy's of copyrighted works. That falls very easily under section 2b of the Charter, freedom of expression.
Even our beloved PM Stephen Harper used this as the basis for his court case, later to be heard by the Supreme Court of Canada & he won!
Harper v. Canada (Attorney General)0 00scc57.html
http://scc.lexum.umontreal.ca/en/2000/2000scc57/2
If you want to submit your comments as "Concerned Global Citizens", the Canadian Copyright Policy Branch has a Web Form
.I don't know if the Canadian government cares what citizens of other countries think, but I don't believe that we will ever get any real Copyright Reform until we convince our respective governments to stop being so myopically nationalistic.
"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." - Mohandas Gandhi
I was sure they'd move from Life+50 to Life+70 before Winnie the Pooh went out of copyright, but no, the works of A. A. Milne (and a hojillion others, including Alfred Kinsey, Jackson Pollock, and H. L. Mencken) are in the public domain in Canada. If they manage to hold out for another year, the public domain will grow to include (for instance) John von Neumann.
At least they've managed to keep their laws reasonable compared to those in the U.S., though that's not saying much. If they keep being an oasis of comparative sanity, I may end up moving there. Here's hoping they'll stay that way for a good long while.
Laws do not persuade just because they threaten. --Seneca