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Why Canada Does Not Belong On the US Piracy Watchlist
An anonymous reader writes "Each year, the U.S. government places Canada on its piracy watch list,
claiming that it is a pirate country similar to China or Russia. This
year, Professor Michael Geist and Public Knowledge teamed up to respond to
myths about Canadian copyright law with a submission
to the USTR focusing on how Canadian law provides adequate and
effective protection, how
enforcement is stronger than often claimed, why Canada is not a piracy
haven, and why Bill C-11 does not harm the interests of rights holders
(critics of Bill C-11 digital lock rules will likely think this is
self-evident)."
The new Majority Conservative government is now bringing in laws to make Canadian laws in like with the U.S.- no need to worry...
If I send a legit copy of something I have the copyright on to a friend, using the internet, and the ISP records a copy of my traffic at the government's behest, aren't they engaging in piracy?
(Posting AC because I'm at work)
The reason Canada is on the piracy watch list is simple - Canadian politicians want us to be there so they can have a reason to craft draconian laws that appease big media's wishes. Really, it's that simple - it's political manoeuvring in an effort to get the public to support legislation that is "clearly needed" because, you know, we're on the US's piracy watch list so things must be bad in Canada! We need to fix it. Now just accept these laws that allow warrantless searches and other things that are obscene so I can get my phat payoff cash from Big Media Corp.
Really, it's that simple. And pathetic.
http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Docid=5144516&file=4
it was Bill C-61 first, then it died and was replaced by Bill C-32 which also died. Now its called Bill C-11. Have fun reading this.
Theres also a website which gives lots of information on that bill : http://www.digital-copyright.ca/billc11/
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1048993--leaks-show-u-s-swayed-canada-on-copyright-bill?bn=1
A U.S. Embassy cable written in April 2009 describes a meeting between
Zoe Addington, director of policy for then industry minister Clement, and U.S. officials.
In contrast to the messages from other Canadian officials, she said that
if Canada is elevated to the Special 301 Priority Watch List (PWL), it would not hamper
and might even help the (government of Canada's) ability to enact copyright legislation,
the cable says.
Days later, Canada was elevated on the piracy watch list.
NOTE: entire post shamelessly stolen from guidryp
Obama's legacy: (N)othing (S)ecure (A)nywhere and (T)error (S)imulation (A)dministration
Pfffbbt! Canada! Of course you don't put imaginary lands on watch lists. Canada is an old fairy tell parents tell when they don't want their children to become improv comics or hockey fans.
The real issue is that Canada is not doing enough to be included into all lists like that. Canada, as a raw material and energy exporter, needs to allow its currency to be set by the market and it needs to allows all of its copyright and patent laws to be set by the market as well - which means, the legislation around all of these issues need to be repealed. If Canada allows its currency and regulations to go where the market takes them, it will not only be a raw material, energy exporter, but will bring in tons of new investments and businesses into the country.
You can't handle the truth.
The Canadian Private Copying Collective already collects a levy tax on media "as a way of paying for fair use".
http://neil.eton.ca/copylevy.shtml#what_amount
The things everyone, including politicans, seem to forget...
Canada is now on the "United States's Bitch List" as you guys do what we tell you.
Honestly, I cant believe that my country is strong arming everyone on this planet into catering to a few small Organized crime operations.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Don't shoot! We surrender! You can have Michigan!
Why was this modded down? I agree with the parent that all Canadians should pirate rampantly and remorselessly as long as they are paying media levies. Do not buy shit. Pirate it all until the levy is removed.
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
We must invade Canada!
Check your premises.
Someone forgetting that it was the liberals who brought us up to bring the law into line in the first place? Besides, I'd have thought that you'd have figured something out. That even with enough outcry the government still listens to the people up here. Otherwise C30 wouldn't be open for discussion being modified, we wouldn't have scrapped the long gun registry. And we sure wouldn't be looking at scrapping S.13 from the HRC(the one that prohibits free speech).
Om, nomnomnom...
" Canada, as a raw material and energy exporter, needs to allow its currency to be set by the market..."
What the hell are you talking about?!? Canada's currency is a freely floating one and has been for a few decades. It's one of the few countries on the planet that has a completely floating exchange rate. As for natural resources we have a time honored tradition of selling it abroad. The oil sands in Alberta being the latest.
Piracy here is definitely a problem as I have many friends constantly encouraging me to get my media it the down and dirty way. I have stubbornly been trying to do it the legit way for a long time now. The latest is in trying to get Dexter season 4 and up. Season 1 to 3 is on Netflix Canada but I will be damned if I can rent seasons 4 and up any where. I solved this by using a VPN proxy to the U.S. and some gift card trickery on Amazon to watch it online. I lied to pay for it instead of pirating it.
There is a crap load of content we can never get because some rights holder here in Canada won't allow it to be shown at all here. That's why we can't get Pandora or Spotify. I've seen Canadian indy musicians have their stuff available on iTunes U.S. long before it's available in the Canadian store.
How long do I put up with this before I become a total pirate? Right now I pay a proxy service to pretend like I am American so I can buy the content. I want to pay and be legit but at some point it's just easier to pirate the stuff.
... fuck off? What are we going to do? Go to war? Make an embargo against Canada?
Of course, Canada can be playing the "sure, we'll sort of go along with you" card, while waiting for us to continue fucking up, so it can swoop down and take what it wants.
But me? If i was Canada, i'd say, Fuck You USA. What are you going to do about it?
We can bully on 3rd World Countries, We can bully Middle East Countries. Shit, we got Australia as our testing ground. But if countries like England, or Canada stood up and said, You crazy USA and fuck you, we'll do what we want. And if you don't like it, we'll just sell our energy and natural resources else where.
But Canada is too polite and has no balls, so that will never happen. Really sucks also, because Canada could start changing everything for the better.
Face it. The USA is a bully and we need someone to stand up to us and put is in our place.
Be seeing you...
No. Canada has some explicit "fair use" exceptions in our copyright legislation. It's still illegal to distribute widely.
You can't just give away copies of digital things willy nilly, but you can make a rip of a CD your friend loans you. Though, if the current government have their way, breaking any form of 'digital lock' would become a criminal offense, even if it's to exercise your existing rights.
And, since the media companies insisted on it, we pay a levy on blank recordable media. So, to many of us, they've already secured payment from us. So I don't particularly care if I rip a CD -- though, I generally prefer to buy them so I have a physical copy that I rip. They've got their piracy slush fund, so fuck 'em.
He points out that "illegal camcording had largely disappeared from the Canadian market", so I'm not sure why you're claiming it's widespread. He's also talking about how Canada has a thriving digital music market place, which means people are buying music here. Hell, I've bought several hundred CDs over the last bunch of years ... but, I know I'm likely the exception.
And, I wouldn't be so quick to accuse Geist of confusing correlation and causation ... he's a law professor who studies this kind of stuff in depth. He's not some n00b who makes a habit of bad logic.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
The nature of Copyright Piracy has changed but the laws haven't.
Back in them olden day. For a severe copyright infringement it took a good amount of resources. For books you needed a printing press, for music you needed to be able to grind and duplicate records. It needed expensive equipment, and experience labor to really cause a big infringement. And the laws penalties where heavy because the fine needs to big enough to make sure people don't want to go down that path and invest so much in an illegal activity.
Today it takes more work not to commit a Copyright violation. Near every consumer has a computer which can make duplicate copies of information, it is more convent to Rip a CD and store it on your drive, or when looking for some media to just download a copy, and if someone wants a copy you can just send it over to them. No copies of tapes where after the 3rd or 4th copy it becomes near unusable. Or photocopies of photocopies.... You get Mint or at least second copy perfection every time over and over again. It is cheap and your 6 year old kid can do it. But the laws are still based on the old way, and its fines are weighed as such.
Laws need to be redefined for fare use and copy. Make sure the fines appropriated for the crime... 10000 downloaded movies and songs... $100.00 fine. If you are being more active and have a dedicated server pushing that data to the general public you will expect to be fined more. Appropriate take down grace periods with rules that puts more pressure on the accuser to prove that they are the victim.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
That even with enough outcry the government still listens to the people up here. Otherwise C30 wouldn't be open for discussion being modified, we wouldn't have scrapped the long gun registry. And we sure wouldn't be looking at scrapping S.13 from the HRC(the one that prohibits free speech).
I believe you mean 'selectively listens to the people up here'. The LGR is a good example - I was vehemently opposed to that massive money pit but polls put support for it at 2/3rds and greater. Scrapping the S.13 was a private members bill put forth by a Liberal. And let's let the dust settle on C30 before declaring victory - the Cons aren't at all the libertarian leaning party many make them out to be.
It's on America's tortured brow, That Mickey Mouse has grown up a cow
It's fine to blame the Liberals (or the most-recent government of a different party) for laws they passed and screwed up and the current government has to fix, but stop blaming the Liberals for legislation that never passed. If the Conservatives thought it was a bad bill, they wouldn't have resurrected it.
And FYI, many Liberal supporters fought against those bills when the Liberals introduced them. Why can't Conservative supporters stop blindly supporting bills and laws just because they're backed by Conservatives? Are they that blind that they MUST unwaveringly follow their leader in all things?
C-30 was backpedaled on not because of massive public outcry, because the Harper Conservatives are used to ignoring that. What they AREN'T used to is a significant number of their base vocally and publicly turning on them. Even Sun News, the far-right news outlet that almost always supports the Conservative agenda, called Toews "an idiot" and said the bill was indefensible ("in its current form").
We accept your surrender, but on our conditions. And they are:
1. You take Quebec.
I'm not a nerd. Nerds are smart.
They tried to build their own once. US manufacturers went up there and complained. Canada stopped the project, destroyed the prototypes and has never had the balls to try anything like that again.
Have gnu, will travel.