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US Group Wants Canada Blacklisted Over Piracy
An anonymous reader writes "Following up on an earlier story, the IIAA wants to add Canada to a blacklist of the worst intellectual property offenders. A powerful coalition of U.S. software, movie and music producers is urging the Bush administration to put Canada on an infamous blacklist of intellectual property villains, alongside China, Russia and Belize. 'Canada's chronic failure to modernize its copyright regime has made it a global hub for bootleg movies, pirated software and tiny microchips that allow video-game users to bypass copyright protections', the International Intellectual Property Alliance complains in a submission to the U.S. government."
"The problem of unauthorized camcording of films in Canadian theatres is now nearing crisis levels," the group complained.
Crisis levels? People are dying?
No, it's a fucking camcorder recording of a hollywood movie. All the bad things about watching the movie in the theator in the privacy of your own home.
If this is really a problem, it's because the movies suck and early word getting out about how bad the movie is is hurting sales. Simple solution to that; Stop making crap movies.
Mod me down with all of your hatred and your journey towards the dark side will be complete!
Over video games?
Cool.
Let's say Canada is on the black list. Then all countries on the black list would only do business togeter and not with the US anymore. Would the US make that mistake? Stoping billions in profits just for some millions lost? That would be so funny (MPAA, etc, shooting themself in the foot). But that would proove a point. When Canada and all others would be on the list, and music and movies would still be on the net, it is at that time, that the shooting in the foot would begin.
No sig for now.
It would be interesting to know just what Canada's obligations are under the Berne convention or any other IP treaties they may have signed. Is this just a bunch of large corporations whining that the rights they think they ought to have aren't universally recognized, or is Canada actually breaking a treaty obligation? Or is the Berne convention sufficiently vague that both sides can plausibly believe they are right? What if a country doesn't want to participate in the Berne convention or trips anymore? (The US didn't sign on until 1989, now we're trying to force our IP laws on everyone else.)
The funny part is that until the 1970s it was the US that was the "rogue" nation on the international blacklist (and even had the gall to be proud of it), because it still held somewhat to the quaint ideas delineated in the Bill of Rights which are antithetical to a "guild" system of intellectual property.
Europe is the crucible from which "modern" (it's really fuedal, thus old fashioned, but what the hell. Nobody remembers anything before last Thursday anyway) copyright law was cast, but it's the converts that are almost always the biggest PITA fanatics; especially if there's money and power in it for them.
KFG
Take a look at Michael Geist's blog... he's the Lawrence Lessig of Canada.
;)
This message proudly paid by a Montreal Pirate! (whatever that means
Blacklisting Canada... What an excellent idea!
Let's say that the U.S. delayed the release of all films in Canada by several months, as they have already threatened to do. Suddenly, film release dates in Canada would no longer coincide with the hype in American media. Canadian consumers would have to endure months of temptation to download industry-insider-provided rips of screeners (not crappy camcorder copies) before films finally come out in Canada. That would certainly hurt good films, but those one-weekend-wonder stinkers that are massively promoted (and never shown to critics in advance) would flop bigtime in a fore-warned Canada. Overall, that's a lot fewer movie tickets sold. Who's going to pick up the slack? Maybe, just maybe, local Canadian film-makers. Quebec actually has a pretty good cinema going but English Canada has bugger all thanks to the abundance of american media. Anything that reduces the market share of american cinema is likely to cause a boom in Canadian film. Yes, american TV shows filming on the cheap in Canada might finally have a little competition for local talent, but who cares?
Market controls on foreign content in a nation's cinema have been shown to improve that nation's cinema. Just look at French cinema since WWII. Their government required that a certain percentage of films shown in French cinemas had to be French. U.S. production companies were financing cheap films just to boost the overall French market so they could release more films in France! Canada considered implementing similar legislation, but failed to do so, much to the detriment of our own nation's cinema. Canada's cinema could certainly benefit from market controls today, but implementing them would be political suicide for any who dared. The U.S. would cry foul over protectionism and Canadians used to american films would be very peeved about not being able to get their fix. However, if the kind americans were to do this for us...
This really is a win-win situation for Canada. The worst the U.S. can do to Canada is the best possible thing for Canada's cinema and the worst possible thing for american film makers. So *PLEASE* blacklist us. Pretty please! I freakin' double dare ya! Heck, BAN the release of american movies in Canada indefinately!