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"Canadian DMCA" Rising From the Dead
mandelbr0t writes "The Canadian Conservative government is preparing to reintroduce amended copyright legislation on Thursday (we discussed the rumor some weeks ago). Most sources say that the proposed legislation is very similar to Bill C-61, generally dubbed the 'Canadian DMCA.' It still includes definitions of 'technological protections' and criminalizes 'circumvention' of those protections. Bill C-61 died in the summer of 2008, facing massive opposition from the Canadian public. Once again, it's time for Canadians to get politically active; ORC ran a large campaign with the last attempt, and will likely be updated soon with the new proposed legislation." Read below for more of the submitter's thoughts on the coming battle.
As with Bill C-61, the Conservative government has launched a campaign of misinformation to attempt to force the law down our throat. Industry Minister Tony Clement is trying to convince people that "format shifting" is currently illegal. Of course, it is not actually criminal, and enforcement of private infringement, as always, is prevented by the fact that massive invasion of privacy would have to occur. Second, Mr. Clement is claiming that this law is necessary to bring Canada into line with the WIPO Treaty. The above readings discredit WIPO altogether. Furthermore, the two articles that are being referred to are Articles 11 and 12. Note the use of the phrase "effective technological measure" and the absence of any criminality requirement. This legislation is not necessary to provide amended copyright law that is consistent with the WIPO treaty, and will hopefully die an uneventful death, to be buried for eternity.
As with Bill C-61, the Conservative government has launched a campaign of misinformation to attempt to force the law down our throat. Industry Minister Tony Clement is trying to convince people that "format shifting" is currently illegal. Of course, it is not actually criminal, and enforcement of private infringement, as always, is prevented by the fact that massive invasion of privacy would have to occur. Second, Mr. Clement is claiming that this law is necessary to bring Canada into line with the WIPO Treaty. The above readings discredit WIPO altogether. Furthermore, the two articles that are being referred to are Articles 11 and 12. Note the use of the phrase "effective technological measure" and the absence of any criminality requirement. This legislation is not necessary to provide amended copyright law that is consistent with the WIPO treaty, and will hopefully die an uneventful death, to be buried for eternity.
We already pay a special tax on blank DVDs and CDs because of "pirating". If the government passes this bill, do you think they would axe this tax? Would they be required to?
Bad law can fail a thousand times, but it only needs to pass once.
--- Mercutio was right.
Congratz to canada for resisting this so far, and the support from us sorry sods and brethren to the south to do it again. Hopefully if you prove it can be resisted the US will learn hope once more...
Can't happen until a completely different bunch is elected...As long as even one remains in government, the threat will remain very much alive... In addition to the letter writing, send the message at election time, or live with the consequences..
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
Of course they won't cut the tax on blank media if they bring in tougher copyright legislation. I sincerely doubt, and am sure I've seen articles confirming, that none of that collected surtax has actually made it into the artists' hands as proposed. It may not have gone into the general coffers but I would wager that any interest made on the money while the government holds it until they can figure out an equitable way of dispersing it goes straight to the general income of the government.
It's a government. It's going to have things any way it wants and change the laws to make it so, logic be damned.
It's going to take more than one party to pass this. So no matter what party your MP belongs to, let them know you are most definitely not amused. And other parties *have* had a hand in this before.
I've always worried about the ramifications of discouraging people from tinkering, innovation and creative thinking. What happens to a technical creative process go when people are scared of doing something against the law? What does fear to do a creative mind, and what does it mean to our younger generation, and the future of our country?
So if you care, please inform others about this, and encourage them to follow through on making themselves heard... no matter who their favorites in parliament are.
(Love Make magazine's motto: void your warranty).
if it's still there may make for a good court case.
Even to point of be not guilty as you did pay for stuff you are downloading.
when government is prorogued or dissolved for a general election, just like every other time. It is completely obvious that the public has no desire for these draconian measures but something must be done to appease the lobbyists. All the same once ACTA comes in Canadians will be effectively screwed.
Exactly.
Judge: Did you or did you not circumvent and redistribute manipulated copies of Iron Man 2?
Defendant: Yes
Judge: What do you have to say for yourself?
Defendant: I bought like, 20 spindles of DVDs last year?
Judge: Good, Good, carry on
All your 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0 are belong to us
Redundant? I don't see anybody else describing how this campaign is being pawned off... So those that are opposed need to frame it for what it is, an industry effort to suppress independent artists.. It needs to be made clear to the voters that this is industry versus artists and the consumers..
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
Spoken like someone who's never been west of Thunder Bay.
There are NO nuclear reactors in Alberta. None. One has been proposed, but so far has met some pretty stiff opposition (we likes our god-given coal, yessir).
So unless the price of oil skyrockets again or electricity suddenly becomes very very cheap in Alberta (not likely, given our lack of hydro and the snails pace of the wind sector), lots of oil in the oilsands will remain untouched until it becomes economically feasible to extract it.
Capiche?
If it failed the first few times, just keep trying. Surely we can either slip it by the public or keep trying until they lose steam or we've distracted them with something else. Do whatever it takes to keep the media industry funding our political campaigns.
Stories like this almost make me physically ill.
The Bloc has long been in favor of this, as another poster points out. From what I have heard, the media in Quebec have not covered the issue the way they have elsewhere in Canada. Last time, the Bloc actually complained that Bill C-61 did not go far enough.
Still, the Conservatives do not wish to lose votes. The Bloc was in favor before, yet we managed to kill the bill.
In the US, if you have a DVD designed not to play on your computer (you play it in Windows Media Player and it comes up as cannot play due to copyright restriction) and you watch it in VLC, if the Movie Studios found out, they could successfully sue you cause you bypassed DRM.
Spelt "capisci", as the second-person conjugation, "you understand" = capisci. The missing "i" on the end when spoken appears to be an American slangy corruption, but then again I'm not that intimate with Italian, so perhaps someone else can chime in. More here.
Cheers,
If the Canadian people were able to get the previous attempt stopped, then they also have the power to get some things back. Perhaps it is time for the Canadian people to get some copyright and related laws reformed. First should be to get rid of this ridiculous blank media tax scam. If there are uses that do not include copying movies and music, then the law is unjust and unfair. Clearly, it is and needs to be reversed retroactively... copyright groups need to give the money back.
Why stop at getting a new law blocked? Take it all back.
They spent a whole year obtaining and then incorporating the results from public consultation into yet another version of the legislation, then they're going to try to shove the same DMCA-style stuff down our throats again, with a minority government no less?
I don't think so.
What was the point of public consultation? What the [expletive deleted] are they doing? They can have their stupid anti-circumvention law that increases penalties if they would just do one simple thing: have the law clearly state that if action you are doing is already legal (e.g., "fair dealing"), then the anti-circumvention part of the law doesn't apply.
[Warms up printer]
The Prime Minister went to the governor general to dissolve parliament by his own choice because he wanted to get a quick opportunistic election in before the mini-depression hit, thus lessening the chance of the opposition parties dragging the voters to the polls again after the economy collapsed under the nose of the PM. The opposition was perfectly willing to leave the Conservatives in power long enough to let the economy nosedive on their watch before forcing an election.
It should be noted that the PM broke his own fixed election date law by dissolving the minority parliament before losing a vote of confidence. Yes the law that he himself pushed through to prevent these opportunistic snap elections.
sucking Hollywood's cock. They keep trying to ram this shit through, I guess the bribes are still being paid in full.
I sincerely hope my fellow Canadians wake up and elect anyone other than Harper and his cronies. Anyone would be better, even Ignatieff.
"The first time I got drunk, I got married. The second time I bought a chimpanzee, after that I stayed sober" Arian Seid
If you want to get politically active, a political party is needed.
Pirate Party of Canada
www.pirateparty.ca
Any government that proposes the same bullshit twice is out. That should have prevented the European Constitution to be forced down our throats after we rejected it firmly.
Nae king! Nae laird! Nae yurrupiean pressedent! We willna be fooled again!
EXACTLY! Build out some to extract the oil.
In Liberty, Rene
Why is it that "conservatist" nowadays seems to mean "evil and stupid"? Or was it always that way?
Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.
Of all that is evil, the corruption of copyright ranks right up there. It's evidently not enough to steal our capital, but now they seek to steal our culture.
Actually, the blank media tax only covers "music", Movies are apparently not included.
So if producers release material in compliant formats then they get the full protection of the law. However if they try to use technology to restrict rights beyond the law then they get the protection of that technology but not the law i.e. if you don't respect consumers rights then they don't have to respect yours. Seems to have a nice symmetry....
"Not one step back!" Do not retreat one inch, ever. If they threaten you with taxes or regulations find ways to encrypt the material and pump it all over the world. The more they push the more you push. Make them dread a fight with you.
Watching these laws being tried and re-tried all over the world demonstrates the will of the establishment in action. These legislations are continually presented all over the world and sometimes I wonder how long it will be before they eventually pass into law. They just keep trying over and over until they get what they want and all our freedom gets diminished into an illusion. Democracy is offered as the ultimate parody of that freedom.
I'm trying hard to remember where I saw a law passed that actually increased our freedoms. It takes a lot of time to read and critique legislation when you do a day job. Whats guiling is there are people out there who are *paid* to lobby for a reduction of freedoms.
It really brings home Jefferson's wisdom when he said "The price of freedom is eternal vigilance."
My ism, it's full of beliefs.
That's right Movies and software are not included. We are also allowed to download/upload tv shows as it falls under the "rebroadcasting" rights.
As long as Canada is a WIPO signatory it will pass eventually.
Though, it's really time for Canada to "shit or get off the pot". Either reject WIPO or pass a DMCA (preferably one with no teeth).
Eventually, it will pass. Best think of how to fight back after it does.
Dave
If you don't win the first time, just keep bringing it back and back and back until you finally get the timing right and have enough legislators in your pocket to get it passed.
It's how we've gotten some of the more industry favorable legislation passed down here.
That's our life, the big wheel of shit. - The Fat Man, Blue Tango Salvage
As others have said the establishment lawyers keep bringing back the same old laws hoping to eventually wear out the resistance of the majority who continue to carry on pirating to their hearts content. Civil disobedience is the last refuge of the oppressed majority who eventually will rise throw off the shackles of slavery to the suits.
Wow I'm sounding like Karl Marx all of a sudden ! Too much coffee maybe, Sorry, I'm Canadian.
Names, phone numbers, email and snail-mail addresses:
http://webinfo.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/MainMPsCompleteList.aspx?TimePeriod=Current&Language=E
By that token, we're also allowed to download/upload any movie which has been broadcast via OTA digital tv.
Sure, getting a DVDSCR 2-3 weeks before the movie releases in theater is wrong, but pretty much any movie > 18 months old is fair game.
I'm interested in the possibility of getting myself arrested and posssibly sent to jail for violating the proposed laws in the most asinine way possible and then drumming up some kind of media coverage in order to help the public understand just how backwards this legislation is/would be.
So: what's the most vanilla-white-bread-everybody-does-it-I-can't-believe-he-got-sent-to-jail-for-that public outrage inducing way in which I could violate these laws badly enough to get sent to the klink?
Research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing. -- Wernher von Braun
I am Canadian myself, I suspect this will not come to pass. I mainly blame the US Media lobbying groups for pressing the Canadian Government into the current situation. No sane government would want this law as it seems to do a better job of upsetting the public than benefiting them. I suspect this law keeps coming up as a way for the government to show the worldly powers that they are trying to do something while realizing at the same time that it's going to keep getting shot down. In some ways Canada got lucky. Although we have this nasty blank disk tax, after seeing how the DMCA ended up being used in the US, our Consumer rights groups sprung into action / panic to the law. I am reminded of a show I saw about the printed word. They clearly pointed out that any advanced civilization in history has always permitted the free flow and non-restricted sharing of literature. The ones with problems restricted / limited or even destroyed works. I wonder in time what the difference of not having a DMCA equivalent in Canada will compare to the US?
Here in BC, the current government was re-voted amongst promises that they would not implement an HST (Harmonized Sales Tax, which combines the Provincial+Federal taxes and overall makes more things taxable at a higher bracket). Hell, no HST was one of their major promises.
Very soon after getting in, they went right away with implementing ... the HST. It's been enough to motivate citizens so that they've collected a petition against it, which required signatures from at least 10% of every riding in the province. Keep in mind this wasn't a formal election or anything of the sort, it was ordinary citizens collecting petition signatures.
Despite this, remarks from MLA's and politicians in general have been to the effect of, "well, people seem upset about the HST right now. But they don't understand it, and I'm sure they'll be happy with it when it actually goes through"
Even with the petition, the current government holds enough of a majority that they can shove the tax through anyway, so as per the linked article that may hopefully lead to recall petitions against the MLA's who supported it.
This is at a provincial level, but the Federal level is much the same thing. The opinion seems to be "those opposed are uninformed, we know best and they'll like it when we force it upon them"
So yes, people do contact their politicians when they're unhappy with something. The politicians just don't give a flying f***. They happily take "donations", have fancy meetings at a cost of billions on fancy meetings with similar-minded world leaders, and happily go hundreds of times over budget estimates for events that only the rich/elite can really afford to attend.
It's a party at capitol hill. Guess whose paying for it?
I mean, with undead legislation, you really have to not take chances...
- "History shows again and again how nature points out the folly of men" -- Blue Oyster Cult, 'Godzilla'
It also doesn't cover media like blu ray and DVD so at least your not getting it from both sides for that one.
And because of this, DVD spindles don't have the levy, but CD-Rs do. This makes them quite a bit more expensive than DVDs.
The SLOWPOKE Nuclear Reactor Facilityis located on the main campus of the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
...can wipe my ass.
But Canadian politics are not the same as American ones.
Our conservative party is actually just that: Conservative. They're more about fiscal minimalism and maintaining the status quo, not crusading on moralistic ventures like the Repubs.
In fact, there have been countless efforts on the part of this Conservative party to try to at least diminish, if not eliminate, our across-the-board sales tax (which, incidentally they introduced, but it's worth noting that it was always considered a "temporary" measure, but their quick ousting by the Liberals after its implementation let it linger).
As for this bill, I'd be surprised to see it passed. Really the Cons are just introducing stuff like this to appease the industries. I anticipate this will sit on the table until the next election is called, much like Bill C-61 did, for the exact same reason: Conservatives are running a minority government, and no other parties will support this bill.
See? The more-than-2-party system works!
bringing it back.
Do they call the bribes "campaign contributions" in Canada as well?
Running with Linux for over 20 years!
Sorry, I should have clarified: there are no commercial, power-generation nuclear reactors in Alberta. I forgot the DP building had a little reactor in the basement. Guess you can tell i'm not a physics student, huh? :)
Prentice was actually very much for the stance the tech companies in Canada took a while back (don't change the system, just fight the bootleggers and define what's right and wrong).
It's apparently "heritage" (what a crock of shit) minister Moore that has been busting cabinet's balls for a restrictive DMCA-style deployment.
Oh, brownie points for Prentice: apparently he's copied all of his CDs for use on his iPod and doesn't afraid of it. Again, the problem is moore, and the dummies who think that kind of "change" will do anything, other than fit into "change, please?"
So THAT's why dvd's are so much cheaper up here. I always wondered about that. For those that don't know, DVD's tend to be 3/4 the price of CD's in Canada.