From Thursday, June 12th, 2008, so about 121 days ago, [Popularity: 41%]
The result of sending a letter with your concerns about copyright to your member of parliament and various other influential ministers in federal government is NOT that they listen to your concerns, but rather that they put you on their mailing list and send you propaganda and notifications of exactly how they are ignoring your concerns. For those who don’t happen to be on that particular mailing list, a copy of a letter from my inbox a few minutes ago follows:
The Government of Canada has introduced Bill C-61, An Act to Amend the copyright Act. The proposed legislation is a made-in-Canada approach that balances the needs of Canadian consumers and copyright owners, promoting culture, innovation and competition in the digital age.
What does Bill C-61 mean to Canadians?
Specifically, it includes measures that would:
- expressly allow you to record TV shows for later viewing; copy legally purchased music onto other devices, such as MP3 players or cell phones; make back-up copies of legally purchased books, newspapers, videocassettes and photographs onto devices you own; and limit the “statutory damages” a court could award for all private use copyright infringements;
- implement new rights and protections for copyright holders, tailored to the Internet, to encourage participation in the online economy, as well as stronger legal remedies to address Internet piracy;
- clarify the roles and responsibilities of Internet Service Providers related to the copyright content flowing over their network facilities; and
- provide photographers with the same rights as other creators.
What Bill C-61 does not do:
- it would not empower border agents to seize your iPod or laptop at border crossings, contrary to recent public speculation
What this Bill is not:
- it is not a mirror image of U.S. copyright laws. Our Bill is made-in-Canada with different exceptions for educators, consumers and others and brings us into line with more than 60 countries including Japan, France, Germany and Australia
Bill C-61 was introduced in the Commons on June 12, 2008 by Industry Minister Jim Prentice and Heritage Minister Josée Verner.
Hmm… methinks thar be a wee bit’o doublespeakin’ happenin’ herebouts. Now be the time to be talkin’ amongst yerselfs.
Update: I should have mentioned that there is a really good analysis on Michael Geist’s Blog everyone should check out.
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June 13th, 2008 at 11:08 am
June 13th, 2008 at 11:19 am
June 13th, 2008 at 11:33 am
June 13th, 2008 at 11:51 am
June 13th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
1. I have no idea what either of you are talking about.
2. I still read to the end of the comments.
3. This note has a very friendly ring to it! Please note: If this text is visible or otherwise displayed your browser has circumvented the DRM lock of this website and you may be subject to damages. Your visit has been logged.
June 14th, 2008 at 7:26 am
1) A DRM lock can be malicious, for example requiring you to install Sony adware on your computer to listen to a CD (real example).
2) A DRM lock can be restrictive, for example only running in Internet Explorer or absolutely requiring the latest version of Microsoft Windows Vista to watch a DVD on your computer (real example, and yes no Macs or Linux)
3) A DRM lock can be simple and/or vague, for example as simple as a digital “flag” or “switch” or a single word of text. (real example)
And what this amounts to is that anyone and everyone (including schools and teachers, by the way) can be fined in increments of $500 for downloading and $20,000 for uploading unlocked content at content owner’s discretion.
So, by placing that “lock” at the top of my blog it is a political statement of sorts — and hopefully people will ask questions and I can tell them how arbitrarily and randomly this law can make you a criminal and subject to damages (fines and prison) for using electronic media. There are not many readers on this blog who would get a complaint launched at them, but soon, like anything else electronic, all rights now go to the owners of the content. And think about who that is.
June 20th, 2008 at 10:38 pm
“Bill C-61 purports to promote the use of distance learning by permitting the communication of copyright works for educational or training purposes (Section 30.01(3)), yet a subsequent provision (Section 30.01(5)(a)) requires teachers to destroy the lesson within 30 days of the end of the course.”
So all you teachers out there, when this bill is law, you will have to spend July shredding any copyrighted course material you have (photocopied recipies, patterns, that news clip about some historical event, those handouts you photocopied out of the text). Then you can spend August redoing all your course materials!! Best part is, this bill expects you to do all that for free!
In addition, this bill may specify that you have the right to use certain materials (i.e. use a clip from a DVD in a presentation, or such), but if you break a digital lock to exercise that right, you will be punished! That’s right, The bill giveth and the bill taketh away at the same time. With this bill, those DRM flags that are set by a foreign corporation and tell you what can can and cannot do would seem to supersede any rights granted to you in Canadian law.
Maybe now is the time to let your MP know that you do not approve of the changes, specifically Section 30.01(5)(a) requiring teachers to destroy course material and Section 41, the anti-circumvention clause, which turns content owners into renters and allows foreign corporations to supersede local laws…