US Says Canadian Copyright As Bad As China's, Russia's

An anonymous reader writes "The US is blaming Canada in a new report that claims that Canadian copyright and intellectual property laws are as bad as those found in China and Russia. Michael Geist notes that Canadian officials have dismissed these findings in the past, arguing it 'does not recognize the Special 301 process due to its lacking of reliable and objective analysis.'" (Read more about the annual Special 301 report.)

Comments

Backhanded Compliment?

[CountOfJesusChristo]

Given America's stance on copyright these days, this sounds more like a ringing endorsment of Canadian copyright law than a condemnation.

Re:Backhanded Compliment?

[BabyDuckHat]

Copyright law in the United States is a perverted abomination, mutated over decades by powerful corporations to benefit only themselves to the detriment of the people on whos backs they've built their gargantuan regimes.

It's also the sux0rz.

Re:Backhanded Compliment?

[Anonymous Coward]

the problem apparently is that a lot of commercially bootlegged products make it into the US through Canada. The Canadian government essentially permits this, for example, if you drive across the border with a truck full of DVDs, the Canadian customs agents can't stop you without getting a warrant.

Canadian customs agents are not the police.

Like most civilized countries, Canada doesn't stop & search every vehicle & person leaving the country. Canadian customs agents stop & search incoming traffic.

Keeping bad stuff & bad people out of the USA is the job of the US Customs & Border Patrol.

Re:Backhanded Compliment?

[TubeSteak]

Why is this the problem of Canadian customs agents? Isn't it the responsibility of the US customs agents get off their arses to check incoming shipments?

Because the USA imports on such a massive scale, they have no hope of nspecting even a fraction of what comes in, so they do their best to fob off responsibility on other countries.

Kinda like how Federal agencies barely test imports or they would have caught tainted [everything] from China.
The money and willpower just isn't there.

Re:Backhanded Compliment?

[nametaken]

Agreed. I'm really quite embarrassed that my country would actually criticize another regarding their copyright law and enforcement.

Failfacts

[Anonymous Coward]

Wow i didn't know the RIAA and MPAA could lobby the USA to condemn other countries. Have they ever actually bothered to look at themselves instead of being hypocrites telling the rest of the world to do things they themselves are not willing to do.

Look at the http://geo.keff.org/ pirate bay peer tracker and it's clear America and china are the big peer providers for torrents.

sorry Canada is a real democracy not a corporate sponsored illusion. We put laws into place that the people want not corporate powers that run other nations to ignorant to new technology and progression. For starters if we here in the great white north had access to hulu i would not need to download many of the shows i miss well at work. Screw the usa and its overkill laws that allow corporations to exploit and extort their own customer base.

Tit for tat

[quacking duck]

I've said it before: The US government and the IP lobbying groups can go frak themselves ten ways to Sunday on this issue.

In the softwood lumber dispute the US not only flipped the bird at Canada, but refused to accept several judgments against them by the WTO and NAFTA.

If you don't respect international laws and rulings against you, don't expect others to respect the lopsided laws you're trying to force down the throats of more free-thinking countries.

(Sadly, they've come to expect no less; in the end, the newly-elected Conservative government rolled over on the softwood issue, gave the ball to the US, and begged for more. Yes, I'm just as disgusted at the pansies who sold us out)

Re:Tit for tat

[radtea]

If you don't respect international laws and rulings against you, don't expect others to respect the lopsided laws you're trying to force down the throats of more free-thinking countries.

Rogue states like the US need to be reigned in. The US government has consistently violated international norms for decades, particularly with regards to bizarre claims of extra-territoriality, which basically means Americans think that they can legally apply their wacko laws to everyone everywhere.

Unfortunately, although once a great trading republic, the United States is now a military empire, financed by debt and spiralling into oblivion. Americans will be hurt by their fall more than anyone else, but the rest of the world really needs to start paying attention and thinking about how to deal with a post-American planet.

One of the things we need to do is bring home to Americans as clearly as possible that we don't care about their parochial laws. Canada is in full compliance with all relevant international treaties on copyright, and any extraneous conditions that the Americans would like to impose on us are irrelevant. We are an independent nation, and don't react well to being told what we ought to do by our bankrupt southern neighbours.

Great

[Anonymous Coward]

Copyright is too strong in the USA. Anywhere that they say is "lax", must be better then the USA at it.

It was supposed to last just long enough so that inventors and artists could make enough money for their next work. Not an ever lasting deal as is what we get with the copyrights being extend again and again.

Re:They also blame us

[quacking duck]

It was bad enough when the secretary of Homeland Security said last week the 9/11 terrorists came through Canada. To hear John McCain repeat that lie made me very glad he's not your president. Does he also think Iraq was responsible for the attacks too?

Unbelievable.

Here is how I understand the summary, as bad as-

[sam0737]

It says Canadian copyright laws are as bad as China and Russia.

What it didn't say is that - US copyright laws are even worse.