Archive for June, 2010

Long-Awaited Copyright Reform Plan Flawed But Fixable

I attended yesterday's C-32 media lockup on behalf of the Toronto Star, who asked for a quick analysis piece of the bill.  My column is posted below:

Copyright has long been viewed as one of the government's most difficult and least rewarding policy issues. It attracts passionate views from a wide range of stakeholders, including creators, consumers, businesses, and educators and is the source of significant political pressure from the United States.  Opinions are so polarized that legislative reform is seemingly always the last resort that only comes after months of delays.

The latest chapter in the Canadian copyright saga unfolded yesterday as Industry Minister Tony Clement and Canadian Heritage James Moore tabled copyright reform legislation billed as providing both balance and a much-needed modernization of the law.

The bill will require careful study (suggestions that a quick set of summer hearings will provide an effective review should be summarily rejected) but the initial analysis is that there were some serious efforts to find compromise positions on many thorny copyright issues.  

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June 3, 2010 81 comments Columns

Long-Awaited Copyright Reform Plan Flawed But Fixable

Appeared in the Toronto Star on June 3, 2010 as Long-Awaited Copyright Reform Plan Flawed But Flexible Copyright has long been viewed as one of the government's most difficult and least rewarding policy issues. It attracts passionate views from a wide range of stakeholders, including creators, consumers, businesses, and educators […]

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June 3, 2010 Comments are Disabled Columns Archive

Bill C-32: The Day After Media Coverage

Given the public interest in copyright, it should come as little surprise to find intense media coverage of the introduction of the new copyright bill.  While the government's emphasis was on balance, it is interesting to note that much of the discussion in the media focused on the impact of […]

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June 3, 2010 2 comments News

Clement’s Tweeting on C-32: A New Kind of Public Engagement

While there are critics of C-32, everyone should be willing to give props to Industry Minister Tony Clement for his tweeting on the bill.  Soon after the usual press conference, Clement began responding directly to public tweets asking questions about the bill.  He thanked the public for positive and negative […]

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June 3, 2010 8 comments News

Liberals, NDP Both Focus on C-32 Digital Lock Provisions

Reaction from both the Liberals and NDP focus on C-32 digital lock provisions.  Liberal critic Marc Garneau told CBC.ca that the bill seemed to be missing an exception that would allow people to break digital locks if it was for private, non-commercial use.  Meanwhile, the NDP's Charlie Angus argued "the […]

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June 3, 2010 7 comments News