Post Tagged with: "mpaa"

MPAA & RIAA Criticize USTR Position on Canada

One of the big surprises in this year's USTR Special 301 Report was the decision to keep Canada at the lowest level of priority (the Watch List) rather than elevate it to the Priority Watch List.  Indeed, all the political signs pointed to an elevation – all the major U.S. […]

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April 30, 2007 2 comments News

Number Crunching

Earlier this month, U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins stepped up the pressure on Canada on copyright.  The speech that launched a round of media coverage has now been posted by the U.S. Embassy.  The relevant passage is: We are asking the Government of Canada to strengthen your copyright laws. There is […]

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March 20, 2007 10 comments News

U.S. Senators Pressure Prime Minister on Movie Camcording

The dispute over movie camcording in Canada has escalated further with the intervention late last week of two prominent U.S. Senators.  Senators Dianne Feinstein and John Cornyn have written to Prime Minister Stephen Harper to urge Canada to enact new anti-camcording legislation.  The letter pulls out all the usual suspects […]

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March 5, 2007 30 comments News

Another Day, Another Movie Statistic

The NY Times reports on the Canadian camcording issue, using the figure of "30 – 40 percent" of pirated DVDs sourced to Canada.  Moreover, there now yet another reason for why the Canadian camcording is a particular problem – "industry officials acknowledge that Canadian pirates offer technically superior work."

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February 20, 2007 Comments are Disabled News

In Good Company

The International Intellectual Property Alliance – a group that brings together several U.S. lobby groups including the MPAA, RIAA, BSA, the ESA, and publisher groups, has just released its Section 301 recommendations, a submission to the U.S. Trade Representative that frequently serves as a blueprint for U.S. commentary on intellectual property protection around the world.  The list covers 60 countries, including most of the world's leading economies.  The USTR report, which will be released in April, will likely mirror the IIPA recommendations.

Canada figures prominently on this list and indeed this year it is expected that the U.S. will escalate the pressure by placing us on the Priority Watch List.  The Globe and Mail gives the lobby groups' recommendations front page coverage with dire warnings for Canada (the coverage is matched in other countries – see Taiwan and Thailand as examples).  The IIPA submission on Canada includes a litany of complaints, including the failure to implement the WIPO Internet Treaties, the need for ISPs to play a greater role in dealing with copyright infringement, the need for a camcorder law, and the need for greater enforcement activity.  The IIPA report is particularly critical of Bill C-60, arguing that Canada should "jettison" the approach in favour of something, well, like the U.S. has implemented.  In fact, it incorrectly argues that full compliance with the WIPO Internet treaties requires legislation that matches the DMCA (full TPM protection, ban on devices that can be used to circumvent, limited exceptions).  It also wants the scope of the private copying limited and clear liability for P2P services established.  In fact, it even attacks Bill C-60's tepid distance learning and library loan provisions, arguing that they "would have had a significant detrimental impact on publishers of scientific, technical, and medical materials."

While the IIPA recommendations have predictably led to negative, overblown press coverage in Canada, a little context is needed. The reality is that the majority of the world's biggest economies face similar criticism, including:

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February 14, 2007 27 comments News