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Canadian Copyright Reform Takes Effect
An anonymous reader writes "This morning, the majority of Bill
C-11, Canada's copyright reform bill, took
effect, marking the most significant changes to Canadian
copyright law in decades. Michael Geist summarizes
the changes, which include expanded fair dealing, new protection for
creators of user generated content, consumer exceptions such as time
shifting, format shifting, and backup copies, and a cap on liability
for non-commercial infringement."
I had actually e-mailed my MP directly (a Liberal) and the Minister of Industry Affairs (a Conservative), making it pretty clear about how consumer's rights must be protected.
Looks like the levy on media is there; I guess music downloading will continue being legal in Canada. I'm fine with that.
The digital locks piece is what bothers me, and it's good that a process exists to have the governement re-visit this. So on top of my list will be to copy DVDs so that I can use it my devices. Since format-shifting is permitted then this should be fine on principle.
Michael Geist himself should be commended because he was a solid (constructive) critic and I remember seeing him on CSPAN doing an awesome job explaining the issues to the committee members. He played a BIG part in my opinion to get this bill the way it is.
Wearing pants should always be optional.
Canadians have even been counselled to break the law by the government. In particular Conservative MP Lee Richardson said:
If a digital lock is broken for personal use, it is not realistic that the creator would choose to file a law suit against the consumer, due to legal fees and time involved.
See http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/6089/125/ for the full write-up about it.
So the situation in Canada now is that the government passes laws Canadians don't want/like but not to worry, just ignore them.