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Canadian DMCA Proposal About To Die
An anonymous reader writes "Like the previous Bill C-60 before it, the proposed Bill C-61 that would bring DMCA-like laws to Canada is poised to die on the order table, never to receive a vote, as the current minority government falls. An election call is expected in days. Everybody expects that some form of these laws will be back yet again (third time's a charm?). There are too many interests pushing for change to let it go. But here's a chance for Canadians to influence politicians about it in an election campaign, and hopefully strike a better balance. And for those of you in the rest of the world who are laboring under a DMCA-like copyright law, let's hear your stories about why such laws are a good or bad idea, and if bad, how you would amend the law to make it tolerable. With the polls probably on Oct. 14th, Canadians will be looking for a few good ideas."
As a previously loyal conservative voter, I cannot vote for the conservatives this time largely due to C61. I have been thrust, unwillingly, into the arms of the NDP as they are the only one of the three major parties in Canada with a rational position on the subject. This bill proposes to make a criminal of me and virtually everyone I know.
I will be donating money and volunteering my time to ensure that the conservatives do not attain a majority.
That and Harper and Prentice are both industrial strength douchebags. Both of them can go straight to hell as far as I am concerned.
Ian Ameline
Make it tolerable ... By rejecting it and rolling back copyrights to their original limited lifespan of 14 years after registration. (Although I don't mind the automatic copyright granted which should last for no more than one year pending registration, nor the application/grant of one extension for another 14 years)
Oh, and I would increase registration requirements and a provision to provide library copies with actual submissions in open source storage formats completely free of DRM.
IOW, the only tolerable DMCA is a dead DMCA.
The cesspool just got a check and balance.
I wrote my MP for nothing.
Joking aside, she did write me back a with a proper letter and said she was against the bill and would vote no, so I suppose I should get off my ass and vote for her party in this election? (The NDP if you're wondering).
If you tie anti-circumvention to actual infringement rather than blanket-ban it, that's a proper balance.
This would mean tools which meet the betamax standard for substantial non-infringing uses could still be produced and marketed.
among those tools would be region free dvd players, mod chips, etc.
VLC FOR MAC IS DYING! IF YOU DEVELOP, PLEASE SAVE IT!!
Precisely. That's why we have the concepts of majority, minority and coalition governments. I prefer minority governments for exactly the outcome we have here-- Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition actually has the chance to keep shit like this from steamrolling through, when the ruling party doesn't have enough seats to overwhelm the opposing vote.
Feels like just yesterday I watched the conservative government overtake the liberals. Now we have to go through another election? Yeesh.
Is it just me, or do most Canadians not really seem to care about elections? I've never heard anyone seriously discussing Canadian politics. I have coworkers who can ramble on for hours about Obama vs. McCain, but never have I heard people really debate issues on our side of the border.
I like to think that I'm a reasonably well-informed and educated person. I take an interest, greater or lesser, in a great many things, including politics and the world around us.
I have, in several elections, gone to the polling station, taken my ballot to the little booth and after unfolding it, I re-fold it and return it to the clerk for her to put into the ballot box. I vote, but I make no mark on the ballot at all if, in my opinion, no candidate is worthy of receiving my vote.
And I am Canadian.
If you're a zombie and you know it, bite your friend!
I like you're idea of voting for the party you actually support. I actually did last time around, but I'm worried about the Conservatives getting back in, so I'm not sure this time. If you're in BC, vote for STV next year: http://stvforbc.com/
First of all, I am not a Canadian. Nor am I an American.
In fact, I am not even a native English speaker.
Furthermore, a declined or an invalid ballot is subsequently ignored. If 10% of the population cast such ballots, they will not get 10% of empty seats to represent them. So please do not flame me.
Ignore this signature. By order.
There is one good part of the DMCA: The Safe Harbor stuff that makes ISPs not liable for content their users upload. Now, it just plain seems obvious to me that ISPs aren't responsible for policing their users, so I'm not sure if a law stating that is really necessary. But what is obvious and common sense isn't always what the law interprets. So it might be a good thing to have.
Dear Canadian AC,
The special interests also shoved through a "Blank Media Levy" here. After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that you can't use copyright law to ban a device (like the VCR) that has a significant legitimate use, there were reportedly threats to sue anyone who imported a DAT recorder, to the tune of $1 billion or more.
This led to copy protection (SCMS), AND recorder tax, AND blank media tax, on all standalone consumer digital audio recording devices. Computer accessories were explicitly exempted from this nonsense, and the new law was billed as preventing anti-technology lawsuits, but that didn't stop the RIAA from unsuccessfully using the new law to try to kill a computer-dependent MP3 player (RIAA vs. Diamond Multimedia). Following the RIAA's court loss, "voluntary" DRM (SDMI, Windows Media DRM, iTunes/iPod DRM) appeared.
What we need here in the States is a repeal of
* the copy protection and tax provisions of the AHRA
* the mandatory MacroVision provision of the DMCA
* the anti-circumvention clause of the DMCA
* any law or regulation requiring devices to honor other copy protection or DRM (e.g., broadcast flag)