Canada's Proposed DMCA-Style Law Draws Fire

litui writes "Michael Geist assesses the problems with new copyright legislation presented today. In short, it looks like unless it's heavily contested, Canadians are in for a worse piece of law than the DMCA." CBC News' story quotes one critic, Scott Brison, who warns that enforcing the anti-circumvention clauses of this legislation would turn Canada into a police state — which, considering the pervasive eavesdropping it would take to make sure that people aren't enjoying their rights to fair use (or "fair dealing") of hardware or media, seems like a fair prediction.

Comments

A small piece of hope

[Tragek]

The government said a second reading of the legislation wouldn't occur until the next sitting of the house. With the government breaking soon for the summer, such a reading would not occur until the fall. This gives three months to rally against it. Though, Micheal Geist looks at it slightly differently:

The government plans for second reading at the next sitting of the house, effectively removing the ability to send it to committee after first reading (and therefore be more open to change).

Re:Liberals

[JebusIsLord]

Just to clarify for Americans who don't understand the parliamentary system, basically the Conservatives hold the most seats, but not the majority of seats, so they can loose motions. If it is considered a confidence motion, then the goverment is overthrown and we have another election. Usually minority governments are unstable and dissolve after a few months, but this one has been around (IMO) far too long.

Current Goverment Talking points

[digitrev]

I received an e-mail from the Minister of Industry, Jim Prentice (Minister.Industry@ic.gc.ca), presumably because I've e-mailed him about this in the past. In it are the current government talking points. Please, do your best to refute these and point out the horrible, horrible flaws in this bill. Find your MP by postal code, and give them a good thrashing.

The Government of Canada has introduced Bill C-61, An Act to Amend the Copyright Act. The proposed legislation is a made-in-Canada approach that balances the needs of Canadian consumers and copyright owners, promoting culture, innovation and competition in the digital age.

What does Bill C-61 mean to Canadians?

Specifically, it includes measures that would:

• expressly allow you to record TV shows for later viewing; copy legally purchased music onto other devices, such as MP3 players or cell phones; make back-up copies of legally purchased books, newspapers, videocassettes and photographs onto devices you own; and limit the "statutory damages" a court could award for all private use copyright infringements;
• implement new rights and protections for copyright holders, tailored to the Internet, to encourage participation in the online economy, as well as stronger legal remedies to address Internet piracy;
• clarify the roles and responsibilities of Internet Service Providers related to the copyright content flowing over their network facilities; and
• provide photographers with the same rights as other creators.

What Bill C-61 does not do:

• it would not empower border agents to seize your iPod or laptop at border crossings, contrary to recent public speculation

What this Bill is not:

• it is not a mirror image of U.S. copyright laws. Our Bill is made-in-Canada with different exceptions for educators, consumers and others and brings us into line with more than 60 countries including Japan, France, Germany and Australia

Bill C-61 was introduced in the Commons on June 12, 2008 by Industry Minister Jim Prentice and Heritage Minister Josée Verner.

For more information, please visit the Copyright Reform Process website at www.ic.gc.ca/epic/site/crp-prda.nsf/en/home

Thank you for sharing your views on this important matter.


The Honourable Jim Prentice, P.C., Q.C., M.P.
Minister of Industry

The Honourable Josée Verner, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Canadian Heritage, Status of Women
and Official Languages and Minister for
La Francophonie

Re:We need to contact the MSM

[digitrev]

Don't forget The Ottawa Sun.

The bill would also allow consumers to record television and radio programs to watch or listen to later. And it would allow Internet programs to be recorded as long as they are simultaneously aired on television or radio.

There would also be limits on the time such recordings could be kept, so consumers couldn't build a library of recordings.

Department officials weren't able to say how long recordings would be allowed to be kept for later viewing.

Tell MPs What's Wrong with the Prentice Bill

[PFAK]

Check out Online Rights Canada's new action alert, "Tell MPs What's Wrong with the Prentice Bill":

http://www.copyrightforcanadians.ca/action/firstlook/

Here's what their website says about it:

"After months of hesitation, Industry Minister Jim Prentice has finally revealed his re-write of Canada's rules of copyright. Tell your MP just what you think of it."

Phoning In and Mailing In

[Tiberius_Fel]

I already phoned in to my MP, Prentice, Verner, Dion, and Harper. Use this to get your local MP's mailing and phone information.
http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Parlinfo/Compilations/HouseOfCommons/MemberByPostalCode.aspx?Menu=HOC

I plan to write some letters tonight.

Re:Write Your MP

[PFAK]

Check out Online Rights Canada's new action alert, "Tell MPs What's Wrong with the Prentice Bill":

http://www.copyrightforcanadians.ca/action/firstlook/

Here's what their website says about it:

"After months of hesitation, Industry Minister Jim Prentice has finally revealed his re-write of Canada's rules of copyright. Tell your MP just what you think of it."

Re:We need to contact the MSM

[CastrTroy]

At least we still have the CBC

Speak out!

[Atticka]

Geist has a page dedicated to "The Canadian DMCA: What You Can Do"

here it is:
http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/2431/125/

Enjoy!

Video casettes only???

[Digital_Quartz]

"With respect to audiovisual material such as films, the format-shifting provision would apply only to videocassettes and would not allow you to make copies of material stored on other media, such as DVDs."
-http://www.ic.gc.ca/epic/site/crp-prda.nsf/en/rp01158e.html

That's a bit obtuse. Why does it matter what media format the source is on?

As the bill stands, format shifting from old laser discs or Video-CDs would be illegal. Format shifting DVDs to your video iPod would be illegal (even for the few DVDs without copy protection). Once DVD becomes an obsolete format, it would still be illegal to format shift your content onto more recent media.

Format shifting music DVDs onto your iPod also would be illegal (which totally sucks).

Call/mail your MP. Send my letter if you want.

[rhpenguin]

I posted this on another forum this afternoon.. Though I should paste it here as well.. ---- So, after doing some reading, I learned that our government is back at the Copyright Reform table yet again trying to pass a bill very similar in nature to America's DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act). The long and short of it is if this is passed we're going to lose a lot of the freedoms we enjoy with our media today. I suggest you read the proposed changes at the following website: http://www.ic.gc.ca/epic/site/crp-prda.nsf/en/h_rp01157e.html - Recap version http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=3570473&Mode=1&Language=E&File=48 - Entire bill Once you've done so, I'm going to bet that you will be angry that our government would heavily favor the big media corporations so heavily in this bill while taking away the rights that we currently enjoy like copying a DVD we own for personal use, etc. I strongly advise you write your MP if you do not support this bill after reading about it. If you need to know who that is or find their contact info, visit the following website: http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Parlinfo/Compilations/HouseOfCommons/MemberByPostalCode.aspx?Menu=HOC The following is the letter I've written. You can feel free to send it, or come up with your own. But I urge you to do something and make your voices heard if you do not support this bill. ------- Greetings, I am usually not one to make waves when it comes to political issues, however this one effects me personally and just about every technology using Canadian. After reading through the "Copyright Reform Process - Fact Sheets" (http://www.ic.gc.ca/epic/site/crp-prda.nsf/en/h_rp01157e.html) I have several issues with your proposals. Below I am going to go through each section of the "Fact Sheet" and state my issues with them. With regards to Format Shifting (http://www.ic.gc.ca/epic/site/crp-prda.nsf/en/rp01158e.html): "With respect to audiovisual material such as films, the format-shifting provision would apply only to videocassettes and would not allow you to make copies of material stored on other media, such as DVDs." This scares me. Looking at this statement, if I understand it correctly, and taking it for face value means that I could not take a DVD that I have purchased and put it on my iPod or other digital media players without breaking the law. It would mean that I'd have to purchase another copy of said film (that I had already purchased on DVD) for the media player of my choice. Having to buy the same thing multiple times does not bode well with me. I work hard for what I own, and do not believe that the laws of this country should dictate how I use it. "You could not circumvent or hack a technological measure (digital lock) to make a copy." This is 100% flawed. 99.9% of commercially produced DVDs have a digital protection on them called CSS and an increasing number of audio discs have content protection on them as well. If I wanted to make a backup of media that I own, that means that I would have to break some kind of Digital Rights Management (DRM) to do so, thus making me a criminal under the law. With regards to the Private Copying Of Music (http://www.ic.gc.ca/epic/site/crp-prda.nsf/en/rp01160e.html): On this page, you mention: "What could be copied? -- You could make a copy of music you have accessed legally onto devices you own and onto media to use with these devices. However, you could not copy music you have borrowed or rented." Further down the page you mention: "You could not circumvent or hack a technological measure (digital lock) to make the copy." I'm looking at the last ten CDs I've purchased and eight of them mention they have some form of anti-piracy measures on them. So, ev

Re:Mac and Linux users...

[Random Destruction]

Clearly you must be wrong. The bill is all sunshine and flowers. Just look at the e-mail I just recieved in my university inbox from the Minister of Industry at Minister.Industry@ic.gc.ca :

The Government of Canada has introduced Bill C-61, An Act to Amend the Copyright Act. The proposed legislation is a made-in-Canada approach that balances the needs of Canadian consumers and copyright owners, promoting culture, innovation and competition in the digital age.

What does Bill C-61 mean to Canadians?

Specifically, it includes measures that would:

* expressly allow you to record TV shows for later viewing; copy legally purchased music onto other devices, such as MP3 players or cell phones; make back-up copies of legally purchased books, newspapers, videocassettes and photographs onto devices you own; and limit the "statutory damages" a court could award for all private use copyright infringements;

* implement new rights and protections for copyright holders, tailored to the Internet, to encourage participation in the online economy, as well as stronger legal remedies to address Internet piracy;

* clarify the roles and responsibilities of Internet Service Providers related to the copyright content flowing over their network facilities; and

* provide photographers with the same rights as other creators.

What Bill C-61 does not do:

* it would not empower border agents to seize your iPod or laptop at border crossings, contrary to recent public speculation

What this Bill is not:

* it is not a mirror image of U.S. copyright laws. Our Bill is made-in-Canada with different exceptions for educators, consumers and others and brings us into line with more than 60 countries including Japan, France, Germany and Australia

Bill C-61 was introduced in the Commons on June 12, 2008 by Industry Minister Jim Prentice and Heritage Minister Josée Verner.

For more information, please visit the Copyright Reform Process website at www.ic.gc.ca/epic/site/crp-prda.nsf/en/home

Thank you for sharing your views on this important matter.

The Honourable Jim Prentice, P.C., Q.C., M.P. Minister of Industry

The Honourable Josée Verner, P.C., M.P. Minister of Canadian Heritage, Status of Women and Official Languages and Minister for La Francophonie

Re:Liberals

[optimus2861]

To add to the above, I'll try to explain the current problems of the Liberal party, our official opposition that has been abstaining from votes that would defeat the government and trigger an election.

The Liberals were in power under Jean Chretien from 1993 to 2003, when Paul Martin replaced him. Two things happened around this time. First, Chretien passed a campaign-finance reform bill that banned contributions from corporations and unions. Second, a major scandal broke that was dubbed the sponsorship scandal, as it was revealed Liberal-friendly advertising agencies in the province of Quebec had been awarded numerous government advertising contracts for doing effectively no work, and passing sums of money back to the Liberals as donations. One such case was, literally, an envelope full of cash passed to a Liberal party member in an Italian restaurant.

The Liberals had relied heavily on corporate donors during their time in power and did not have much in place for "grassroots" fundraising, so the campaign finance reform crippled their fundraising abilities. This remains true today; the Liberals are consistently out-fundraised by a huge margin by the Conservatives, who have very solid grassroots fundraising. I think in the last quarter, even the NDP raised more cash than the Liberals. The Liberals have still not managed to fully pay off their debts from their 2006 leadership convention. Bottom line: the Conservatives are flush with cash, the Liberals are broke. The Liberals simply can't afford an election.

The fallout from the sponsorship scandal crushed Liberal fortunes in Quebec and allowed the Conservatives to make significant inroads in the 2006 election. Selecting Dion as leader, who is not popular in nationalist parts of Quebec from his time as constitutional affairs minister under Chretien, has compounded the Liberal problem. Outside of Montreal, the Liberals are polling very badly in Quebec, behind both the Conservatives and Bloc Quebecois, with the NDP nipping at their heels. Even in Montreal, recent polls are suggesting once-Liberal strongholds may be up for grabs. The Liberals have historically been weak in western Canada, and need to win large numbers of seats in both Quebec and Ontario to form government. As of today, the Liberals simply can't win in Quebec.

The final problem the Liberals have is they have transitioned very poorly from government to opposition. Often dubbed Canada's "natural governing party", the Liberals seem to have forgotten how to formulate policy when they are not governing. Much of their performance in opposition has been taken up with blustering about alleged Conservative scandals, rather than articulating an alternate vision of how to run the country.

So in a nutshell, our official opposition is a party that can't afford to trigger an election it can't win on policies it doesn't have. And the Liberals know it. Hence they huff and puff about opposing the Conservatives, but won't pull the trigger.