Post Tagged with: "Chamber of Commerce"

Canadian Chamber of Commerce Leads the Way on IP Lobbying

Howard Knopf points to a Hill Times article that quotes Geoff Norquay as stating that the copyright lobby will be out in full force with the resumption of Parliament and that he expects a new bill within months. Norquay is registered to lobby on copyright on behalf of both Microsoft and the Canadian Association of Broadcasters. While those groups will undoubtedly be active, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce has emerged as one of the most active lobbyist on intellectual property. Despite some dissension within the Chambers themselves, the national body formed a lobby specific group and it has been very active. Another counterfeiting event is planned for next week where the "best practices" and special presentations come from the United States.

More interestingly, the Chamber continues to lobby government directly. According to the latest lobbying reports, Chamber President Perrin Beatty was active late last year, meeting with Assistant Privacy Commissioner Elizabeth Denham to discuss copyright and digital rights management, as well as with senior Industry Canada officials to discuss copyright and the report on intellectual property by McGill professor Robert Gold that concluded that IP laws may be stifling innovation and that increased patent protection may hamper future innovation (the Gold report has also been the subject of an industry-led access to information request).

January 27, 2009 — 5 comments — News

Hamilton Chamber of Commerce Challenges National Chamber IP Approach

As Copyright Watch recently chronicled, local Chambers of Commerce have been singing from the same songbook as Industry Minister Jim Prentice in letters to the editor on Bill C-61. This is consistent with the national Chamber, which earlier this year formed a new lobby group to push for copyright reform and issued a press release supporting the introduction of the copyright bill – complete with local quotes – within 90 minutes of the tabling of the bill.

Notwithstanding these lobbying efforts, a crack in the coalition has emerged. At least one chamber of commerce has decided that it wants to look at the bill with an eye to the impact on small and medium sized businesses. The Hamilton Chamber of Commerce had adopted a resolution that it is hoping to get the Ontario and Canadian Chambers of Commerce to adopt seeking studies on the impact that IP legislation would have on SMEs. The concern is that SMEs would bear the burden of enforcement directed at businesses. The Hamilton chamber argues:

The estimates of piracy used in support of the Canadian and Ontario policies are unsupported by verifiable Canadian data;
Most small businesses are not aware of IP issues and would likely be at a disadvantage if action were ever taken against them on any alleged IP infringement;
Small businesses would have a disproportionate increase in expenses in complying with the costs that the policies would create;
In Canada, many large owners of IP have ‘over-reached’ the protection that IP has given them to the detriment of small businesses;
The proposed change in laws does nothing to favour Canadian businesses;
Many IP users are funded by tax dollars (i.e. education, libraries, archives) and an increase in enforcement is likely to increase their costs, which will, in turn, lead to higher taxes which disproportionately affects small business.

July 24, 2008 — 5 comments — News

Hamilton Chamber of Commerce Challenges National Chamber IP Approach

The estimates of piracy used in support of the Canadian and Ontario policies are unsupported by verifiable Canadian data;
Most small businesses are not aware of IP issues and would likely be at a disadvantage if action were ever taken against them on any alleged IP infringement;
Small businesses would have a disproportionate increase in expenses in complying with the costs that the policies would create;
In Canada, many large owners of IP have ‘over-reached’ the protection that IP has given them to the detriment of small businesses;
The proposed change in laws does nothing to favour Canadian businesses;
Many IP users are funded by tax dollars (i.e. education, libraries, archives) and an increase in enforcement is likely to increase their costs, which will, in turn, lead to higher taxes which disproportionately affects small business.

July 24, 2008 — Comments are Disabled — Stop CDMCA

Copyright Watch on Prentice’s Parrots

Copyright Watch notes the striking similarity between Industry Minister Jim Prentice's talking points and some letters to the editor from local chambers of commerce."

July 9, 2008 — 3 comments — News

New Canadian Business IP Coalition on the Way

Sources indicate that there may be a new business IP coalition on the way, presumably to counter the Business Coalition for Balanced Copyright. The BCBC, which includes a who's who of telecommunications, Internet, broadcast, and retail companies, has called on the government to adopt a balanced approach that addresses fair […]

March 13, 2008 — 10 comments — News