Canadian Gov't Considers Plan To Block Public Domain

An anonymous reader writes "Canada celebrated New Year's Day this year by welcoming the likes of Ernest Hemingway and Carl Jung into the public domain just as European countries were celebrating the arrival of James Joyce and Virginia Woolf, 20 years after both entered the Canadian public domain. The Canadian government is now considering a plan to enter trade negotiations that would extend the term of copyright by 20 years, meaning nothing new would enter the public domain in Canada until at least 2032. The government is holding a public consultation with the chance for Canadians to speak out to save the public domain."

Comments

No, it IS the USA.

[bussdriver]

Wikileaks shows the US government and especially the State Dept. work on behalf of the big moneyed interests which historically were US organizations but not so much today. I'm just waiting for the day a leak shows them going to bat for Chinese interests.

Just recently we have news of them actually threatening Spain to be more draconian and not that many years ago they were threatening Spain again but that time it was to allow GM foods wholly "owned" by Monsanto to the point where they were directly planning with Monsanto execs on the maneuver.

Other nations do it a little but nobody has topped the USA at it; one of the few things we are still #1 at. (see France and the privatization of water.)

Sadly, this will pass

[sinij]

Sadly, this is all but done deal. Traditional Canadian values are being traded for closer ties with US. Conservative Harper government has an ability to pass this, in exchange getting border harmonization (less restrictions on shipping) with US.

Re:Sadly, this will pass

[oldspicepuresport]

I'm no fan of Harper but that's just not true.

Minimum sentences apply only under aggravating circumstances... like selling drugs on school property, selling drugs while armed with a gun, or selling drugs on behalf of organized crime.

Sorry to let reality get in the way of your paranoid delusions. Really.

Re:Sadly, this will pass

[Suddenly_Dead]

Minimum sentences apply only under aggravating circumstances...

That's not true, unless you count recidivism as aggravating, and I would argue that in this case it really shouldn't be.

(a) subject to paragraph (a.1), if the subject matter of the offence is a substance included in Schedule I or II, is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for life, and
(i) to a minimum punishment of imprisonment for a term of one year if
(A) the person committed the offence for the benefit of, at the direction of or in association with a criminal organization, as defined in subsection 467.1(1) of the Criminal Code,
(B) the person used or threatened to use violence in committing the offence,
(C) the person carried, used or threat- ened to use a weapon in committing the offence, or
(D) the person was convicted of a designated substance offence, or had served a term of imprisonment for a designated substance offence, within the previous 10 years, or

Minimum 1-year if someone has been caught with drugs twice. The minimums you're talking about are also there: two years for on/near a school or any public place with minors, or if minors were involved at any point.

It's also minimum 1-year for trafficking, and I'm assuming that would include "was smoking his marijuana with his buddies".

Re:For me, this begs the question

[spottedkangaroo]

Their point is that he didn't use it correctly in the hundreds years old sense: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begs_the_question

Speaking as a Canadian...

[jenningsthecat]

...I urge every Canadian reading this to send an e-mail expressing your (reasonably worded and well-considered) views to consultations@international.gc.ca. I also suggest that you write to or e-mail your Minister of Parliament, and any other MP's that are involved in the process of destrying the Public Domain in Canada.

In the past these letter writing campaigns have resulted in unfavourable and unfair Internet legislation in Canada being rejected, and although the current Conservative majority does not bode well for maintaining a healthy Public Domain, it's still worhwhile trying. In my view these issues are like elections - if you don't weigh in and make yourself heard, you have no right to complain about the outcome. So please raise your voices in an effort to stop this ill-conceived attack on the public good.

Re:For me, this begs the question

[Anonymous Coward]

Wait, and you believe for a second that they change anything?

They can't make donations, but they can let politicians into their swanky dinner parties for free.

And they can let the politicians and their families borrow their stately manor in the Muskokas.

And so on and so forth. Don't think for a second our corrupt collection of assholes in parliament aren't still benefitting HUGELY from these corporations.

Left out the corporate jobs they seem to move into with relative ease once out of office...

Re:For me, this begs the question

[Anonymous Coward]

Yep. When people are lose with language, words loose their meaning.

Re:Can't we just drop the pretenses...

[silentbrad]

Actually, it's a private copying levy on blank media that is paid back to the Canadian Private Copying Collective.

Re:For me, this begs the question

[Hatta]

We have a perfectly good term for the incorrect usage of "begs the question", and that is "raises the question". For the technically correct usage of the term, there is no exact synonym in English. From Wikipedia:

"Circular reasoning is different from the informal logical fallacy "begging the question", as it is fallacious due to a flawed logical structure and not the individual falsity of an unstated hidden co-premise as begging the question is."

Re:at some point

[future assassin]

>I can only hope canada will through consideration completely disregard this attack on the rights and freedoms of canadian citizens.

The Harper Government - yes they want to be called The Harper Gov instead of Government Of Canada will do no such thing, This will pass. Why? Well look what happened after the Wikileaks cables shwed that Canadian politicians where working hard to let the US see early drafts of our bills and OUR politicians were asking the US to put US on the 301 list. This hit a few news sites but NOTHING happened.