Copyright Act Amendments

I am waiting to see the details but it looks like Industry Minister Jim Prentice has caved to the US copyright interests and abandoned the real made in Canada approach to file sharing. He’s softened the blow a little by capping consumer fines at $500.00 (though it is not clear if that is “per instance” in which case it is no cap at all).

But the real danger lies in the details. There are anti-DRM circumvention measures and “ISPs would be obligated to inform subscribers when a complaint has been launched against the consumer by a the owner of a copyright, however they would also be obliged to track that user’s Internet activity for six months in case the information became necessary for legal proceedings.”

The Globe and Mail article makes no mention of the current media levy on all recordable media nor does it mention the private sharing right which has protected Canadians from the lunacy of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

Two things are evident: first, now is the time to grab those torrents and MP3s. Second, hard drive swapping, thumb drives and such like have apparently slipped under the technological radar. Sneaker nets are very powerful when it comes to swapping big files.

One other thing is evident as well, the CPC has no spine at all when it comes to facing down the dying copyright interests in the United States.

Written by jay on June 12th, 2008 with 6 comments.
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Get your own gravatar by visiting gravatar.com A Retiree Looks In
#1. June 12th, 2008, at 10:33 AM.

Jay, Jay, Jay.

the CPC has no spine at all

The only spines in Ottawa are on the back of an occasional porcupine.

Get your own gravatar by visiting gravatar.com RobertJago
#2. June 12th, 2008, at 1:18 PM.

“they would also be obliged to track that user’s Internet activity for six months”

I see where the ‘police state’ accusations are coming from. That kind of thing just isn’t ‘on’. Where are our activist courts when you need them?

Get your own gravatar by visiting gravatar.com Sean
#3. June 12th, 2008, at 1:56 PM.

Thoughts…

1. You still suck ass as a libertarian. I’d like to see you putting as much energy into defending my property rights as you put into defending theft.

2. I have the right to sell my content as I see fit. The customer doesn’t get to decide this for me. Their choices are to either meet my terms or purchase from someone else who comes closer to their needs. If they can’t find what they want from someone else then tough titties. Stealing from me should NOT be an option.

3. Current copyright terms are unreasonable. I’d say that 30 years from the date of creation is enough time to monetize intellectual property. After that point creative works should enter the public domain so that others can use them and build upon them.

4. Fining copyright violators $500 is clearly unreasonable. The little fuckers should be given a Liquid Plumber colonic and then hung from a gibbet.

So there.

Get your own gravatar by visiting gravatar.com jay
#4. June 12th, 2008, at 2:04 PM.

So, Sean, tell us how you really feel…

I would be delighted to support copyright if it had the beneficial effects you suggest - and in the case of your wonderful photography it does because you are the producer of the work. However, what this act is designed to address has very little to do with creators except at a couple of removes. Rather it is a bit of capitulation to the large scale copyright holders whose interest in the creators’ interests is somewhat attenuated.

Get your own gravatar by visiting gravatar.com WL Mackenzie Redux
#5. June 12th, 2008, at 2:11 PM.

The more I see of this government the more I’m convinced giving them a majority would be a mistake.

Think Muldoom era. Do nothing to cut back the leviathan state and sell out our resources to foreign interests.

Libranos without the fluffy feel-good window dressing.

Get your own gravatar by visiting gravatar.com Sean
#6. June 12th, 2008, at 4:04 PM.

This whole HRC mess you’re blogging about? Guess what it stems from? The removal of our intrinsic rights. Rights like:

- Freedom of speech
- Freedom of association
- Freedom to own and control our own property
- Freedom to bear arms and defend the above

All I’m asking for is a reasonable period to earn back my investment on the stuff I’ve created. I think it’s fair to expect that whether you’re an individual or a behemoth corporation.

In the event that I die, I think that up to five years after my death is a reasonable amount of time to protect the copyright for my estate. Of course, if I die 29 years into my copyright the most the estate should be allowed is an additional year the way I see it. So I, as a content creator, am willing to give up some rights under the current law in exchange for aggressive prosecution of content thieves.

I don’t like the idea of DRM. Yes, people steal. So make it illegal and punish the buggers when you catch them. But don’t put shackles on the content — treating customers like garbage is NEVER a good business strategy. All bets are off if the customer turns out to be a dirty thief.

See Mike Brock’s post on Big Business Croynism — he elucidates my feelings better than I could.

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