you've already addressed pt.2 - yes michael geist is canada's closest equivalent to lawrence lessig in the u.s., even to the extent of aping lessig's powerpoint presentations with white buzzword text on black backgrounds.
once you've enshrined this in legislation as an 'exception', then everything else becomes a fair target. yes, the court decisions have provided for fair dealing for research purposes, but that was given the legislation at the time. if another court challenge arises, the court would have to consider the new case in light of the new version of the legislation and, seeing the exception, could rule in a different fashion than before. this is unlikely in this situation, given the unanimity of the CCH decision, but just like the RIAA lawsuits, media will attempt to provide 'balanced coverage', highlighting the illegality of what is actually legal just to make sure the corporate perspective is presented. that media kerfluffle will be enough to convince some in society that downloaded and printing from the internet might not be worth the potential legal trouble.
actually, downloading MUSIC for personal use is COMPLETELY LEGAL in Canada. the judge cites the section of the Canadian Copyright Act that allows this at para [24] and in para [25] he cites the December Copyright Board of Canada decision:
"Thus, downloading a song for personal use does not amount to infringement."
The Copyright Board's December decision completely absolved downloaders while leaving uploaders (sharers) in the legal grey area. The significance of the Federal Court's decision is that it also clears the uploaders as well as long as they are not actively seeking to make others aware of the fact that they have files available to be shared. It is the legalization of both ends of the P2P transaction that will force the CRIA to appeal.
on SLOPPINESS: at para [19] the judge wrote that having the president of the company as a witness was not good enough because he had not *personally* matched the uploaders with specific infringing files, so all his testimony was hearsay.
on COPYRIGHT: at para [27] the judge follows the precedent set by the Supreme Court in that the availability of a tool that can be used to infringe copyright is not enough to trigger infringement, because the element of AUTHORIZATION was not evident. the judge also cites a WIPO treaty which is not yet in force in Canada, that if it is enacted, would make this activity illegal.
SCC case cited can be found online at: http://www.canlii.org/ca/cas/scc/2004/2004scc13.ht ml
on PRIVACY: due to the system of dynamically assigned IP addresses, the log info that can be used to identify individual account holders with infringing activity is time-sensitive. at para [42], the judge wrote that IN THIS CASE, the privacy privacy concerns outweigh the public interest concerns in favour of disclosure.
as a TN visa worker, you have implied that you understand and accept the temporary nature of your position. as a green card applicant, you are indicating your intention to (eventually) become a u.s. citizen. it should be obvious that these become more incompatible the longer into you maintain TN status.
i haven't checked out my favourite TN-1 info site (http://www.grasmick.com/nafta) lately, but the advice on that site used to be that, if you intend to apply for a green card, you should initiate proceedings as early in your TN-1 stay as you possibly can.
1. As a canadian, you have the luxury of taking advantage of one of the very few benefits (to canadians) of the nafta trade agreement. With your computer programming degree, you make the list of around 100 professional occupations allowed free reign across the border with a visa called the TN-1.
I worked for 3 years based in houston, texas as a geophysicist under this type of visa. It is also deemed a 'temporary' visa, but can be renewed annually (and so far, indefinitely) For more info about this, visit http://www.grasmick.com/nafta.htm
(i have never taken advantage of this siteholder's legal services and no endorsement of same should be inferred)
2. RE: Fervent's whining that the U.S. is overly crowded already (#33) - hey, i've driven across your entire country from north to south and from washington state to niagara falls - you've still got plenty of space. (note to other canucks - much as i hate to admit it, our neighbours to the south have done a much better job at protecting their fabulous environments in the midst of human-populated areas - tho we like to spout off about the natural wonders of canada, we've done very little to put our money where our mouths are.)
3. Back to the topic at hand, the fault for the H1-B kerfluffle is not the government. I repeat, for those hard of hearing, IT AINT THE GOVERNMENT'S FAULT. As lophophore noted (#30), H1-B workers tend to be exploited by their u.s. employers. regardless of the advantages they receive personally from the situation, the employees have to look out for themselves. You'd think that after a company has shafted enough of these visa holders, that word would filter back to the homeland.
However, the multinational that i worked with was a bit more enlightened. when one of my co-worker's H1-B visa expired, the company transferred him to the U.K. for a year and then brought him back - there's nothing stopping any u.s.-based multinational from doing the same thing except for greed and insensitivity. Blame those unenlightened corporations for cheating the visa holders and the u.s. economy, not the government.
a final warning to canucks who do decide to take advantage of the TN-1 visa - remember these experiences of the H1-B holders and don't be too suprised if the TN-1 visas lose their preferred status. don't get suckered by the 'green card' fantasies that the companies wave in front of you - out of the 7 canadians that i knew who were waiting for their green card application to go thru, not one of them has yet received an approval. (going on 5 years now)
Slashdot Mirror
you've already addressed pt.2 - yes michael geist is canada's closest equivalent to lawrence lessig in the u.s., even to the extent of aping lessig's powerpoint presentations with white buzzword text on black backgrounds.
once you've enshrined this in legislation as an 'exception', then everything else becomes a fair target. yes, the court decisions have provided for fair dealing for research purposes, but that was given the legislation at the time. if another court challenge arises, the court would have to consider the new case in light of the new version of the legislation and, seeing the exception, could rule in a different fashion than before. this is unlikely in this situation, given the unanimity of the CCH decision, but just like the RIAA lawsuits, media will attempt to provide 'balanced coverage', highlighting the illegality of what is actually legal just to make sure the corporate perspective is presented. that media kerfluffle will be enough to convince some in society that downloaded and printing from the internet might not be worth the potential legal trouble.
actually, downloading MUSIC for personal use is COMPLETELY LEGAL in Canada. the judge cites the section of the Canadian Copyright Act that allows this at para [24] and in para [25] he cites the December Copyright Board of Canada decision:
"Thus, downloading a song for personal use does not amount to infringement."
The Copyright Board's December decision completely absolved downloaders while leaving uploaders (sharers) in the legal grey area. The significance of the Federal Court's decision is that it also clears the uploaders as well as long as they are not actively seeking to make others aware of the fact that they have files available to be shared. It is the legalization of both ends of the P2P transaction that will force the CRIA to appeal.
case can be downloaded from this page:
e w_e.shtml
t ml
http://www.fct-cf.gc.ca/bulletins/whatsnew/whatsn
docket number: T-292-04
on SLOPPINESS: at para [19] the judge wrote that having the president of the company as a witness was not good enough because he had not *personally* matched the uploaders with specific infringing files, so all his testimony was hearsay.
on COPYRIGHT: at para [27] the judge follows the precedent set by the Supreme Court in that the availability of a tool that can be used to infringe copyright is not enough to trigger infringement, because the element of AUTHORIZATION was not evident. the judge also cites a WIPO treaty which is not yet in force in Canada, that if it is enacted, would make this activity illegal.
SCC case cited can be found online at: http://www.canlii.org/ca/cas/scc/2004/2004scc13.h
on PRIVACY: due to the system of dynamically assigned IP addresses, the log info that can be used to identify individual account holders with infringing activity is time-sensitive. at para [42], the judge wrote that IN THIS CASE, the privacy privacy concerns outweigh the public interest concerns in favour of disclosure.
GOOGLE DOES NOT TRUMP AN EXPERIENCED LIBRARIAN
mexicans applying for a TN-1 visa must fit into a much more restricted list of professional occupations.
as a TN visa worker, you have implied that you understand and accept the temporary nature of your position. as a green card applicant, you are indicating your intention to (eventually) become a u.s. citizen. it should be obvious that these become more incompatible the longer into you maintain TN status.
i haven't checked out my favourite TN-1 info site (http://www.grasmick.com/nafta) lately, but the advice on that site used to be that, if you intend to apply for a green card, you should initiate proceedings as early in your TN-1 stay as you possibly can.
ymmv.
senatorhung
http://www.versatiletroubleshooter.com
1. As a canadian, you have the luxury of taking advantage of one of the very few benefits (to canadians) of the nafta trade agreement. With your computer programming degree, you make the list of around 100 professional occupations allowed free reign across the border with a visa called the TN-1.
I worked for 3 years based in houston, texas as a geophysicist under this type of visa. It is also deemed a 'temporary' visa, but can be renewed annually (and so far, indefinitely) For more info about this, visit
http://www.grasmick.com/nafta.htm
(i have never taken advantage of this siteholder's legal services and no endorsement of same should be inferred)
2. RE: Fervent's whining that the U.S. is overly crowded already (#33) - hey, i've driven across your entire country from north to south and from washington state to niagara falls - you've still got plenty of space. (note to other canucks - much as i hate to admit it, our neighbours to the south have done a much better job at protecting their fabulous environments in the midst of human-populated areas - tho we like to spout off about the natural wonders of canada, we've done very little to put our money where our mouths are.)
3. Back to the topic at hand, the fault for the H1-B kerfluffle is not the government. I repeat, for those hard of hearing, IT AINT THE GOVERNMENT'S FAULT. As lophophore noted (#30), H1-B workers tend to be exploited by their u.s. employers. regardless of the advantages they receive personally from the situation, the employees have to look out for themselves. You'd think that after a company has shafted enough of these visa holders, that word would filter back to the homeland.
However, the multinational that i worked with was a bit more enlightened. when one of my co-worker's H1-B visa expired, the company transferred him to the U.K. for a year and then brought him back - there's nothing stopping any u.s.-based multinational from doing the same thing except for greed and insensitivity. Blame those unenlightened corporations for cheating the visa holders and the u.s. economy, not the government.
a final warning to canucks who do decide to take advantage of the TN-1 visa - remember these experiences of the H1-B holders and don't be too suprised if the TN-1 visas lose their preferred status. don't get suckered by the 'green card' fantasies that the companies wave in front of you - out of the 7 canadians that i knew who were waiting for their green card application to go thru, not one of them has yet received an approval. (going on 5 years now)
glad to back in the great white north,
senatorhung
http://www.versatiletroubleshooter.com