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Canadian Songwriters' Collective Licensing Bid Goes Voluntary

Posted by Soulskill on from the optional-taxes dept.

Last year, the Songwriters Association of Canada (SAC) proposed a plan to legalize the file sharing of copyrighted songs, which involved a small monthly fee to people using an internet connection. Critics of the plan complained that it amounted to another tax, and the Canadian recording industry said it violated copyright law. Now, as an anonymous reader writes, "The SAC has renewed its bid to legalize peer-to-peer file sharing in return for a levy on Internet service. The SAC is now calling for the plan to be voluntary, with both consumers and creators having the right to opt-out. ACTRA, the leading performer group in Canada, now says it is also supportive of a legalized approach with the prospect of extending the plan to video sharing."

5 of 93 comments (clear)

  1. Next election... by jsrlepage · · Score: 1, Interesting

    ...I'll vote for the party that supports this (Probably NDP/NPD).

    --
    This is my opinion. Everyone has a right to my opinion.
  2. Re:Letting artists opt-out makes sense by Imagix · · Score: 3, Interesting

    No, no, no. Opt-in is the way it should work. It's only opt-out because of the hassle it takes to actually opt-out, and it depends on the general ignorance of the people that they won't be properly informed that they're even paying this extra tax and that it's possible to opt-out. With these two issues, they would get a huge "sign-up' to this scheme.

  3. Re:So I can choose... by swordgeek · · Score: 2, Interesting

    You make one mistake, in my estimation:

    "...only heavy utilizers are going to opt-in (or rather, not opt-out)."

    This is where they'll make their money: If they implement the fee, 90% of users won't notice it or bother to opt-out. It's going to be a voluntary overpayment, with the money going to the middlemen as usual. (Will the artists get a cent of this? No, of course not! Why would THEY be the ones to profit from their music?)

    Yeah, it's stupid. Stupid, immoral, and corrupt--like the music industry everywhere.

    --

    "People who do stupid things with hazardous materials often die." -- Jim Davidson on alt.folklore.urban
  4. Negative Option Billing by Fractal+Dice · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Wouldn't this scheme be illegal as Negative option billing?

  5. Foreign artists and other media by Meneth · · Score: 3, Interesting

    What about artists that are not members of the SAC? What about movies, games, software and other works?

    Obviously, they cannot be covered by this agreement. Thus, most file-sharing will remain illegal in Canada.