In recent days there has been massive new interest in Canadian
copyright reform as thousands of people write to their MPs to express
concern about the prospect of adding SOPA-style rules to Bill C-11
(there are even plans for public protests
beginning to emerge). The interest has resulted in some completely unacceptable threats
and confusion -
some claiming that the Canadian bill will be passed within 14 days (not
true) and others stating that proposed SOPA-style changes are nothing
more than technical changes to the bill (also not true). Even the
mainstream media is getting into the mix, with the Financial Post's
Terrance Corcoran offering
his "expert" legal opinion that CRIA's lawyers are likely to lose their
lawsuit
against isoHunt.
Given the
importance of Canadians speaking out accurately on Bill C-11, ACTA, and
the TPP, I've posted ten key questions and answers to sort through the
claims. The first eight questions address the links between Bill C-11
and SOPA as well as proposed changes to the current copyright law. The
final two question focus on ACTA and the TPP.
The protests against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement continue
to spread in cities across Europe. The protests began in Poland, where thousands
have taken to the streets and opposition politicians have worn Guy
Fawkes masks in protest against the country signing the agreement last
week. The scenes
from Poland are remarkable, demonstrating the widespread anger over
the decision to join ACTA.
This weekend the protests have spread beyond Poland, with hundreds
protesting in the Czech
Republic, Belgium,
and in cities across France including Paris, Lyon, and Bordeaux
(further Paris video
here). There have also been reports of smaller protests in London
and Dublin.
The ACTA protests appear to be spreading as there are plans for
protests next week in the Czech Republic,
the
Netherlands, Ireland, and Sweden. A full rundown of protest plans
can be found
here. The European Parliament is scheduled to vote on the
agreement later this year.
The reverberations from the SOPA fight continue to be felt in the U.S.
(excellent analysis from Benkler
and Downes)
and elsewhere (mounting Canadian
concern that Bill C-11 could be amended to adopt SOPA-like rules),
but it is the Anti-Counterfeiting
Trade Agreement that has captured increasing attention this week.
Several months after the majority of ACTA participants signed
the agreement, most European Union countries formally
signed the agreement yesterday (notable exclusions include Germany,
the Netherlands, Estonia, Cyprus and Slovakia).
This has generated a flurry of furious protest: thousands
have taken to the streets in protest in Poland, nearly 250,000
people have signed a petition
against the agreement, and a Member of the European Parliament has resigned
his position as rapporteur to scrutinize the agreement, concluding that
the entire review process is a "charade."
Some are characterizing ACTA as worse than SOPA, but the reality is
somewhat more complicated. From a substantive perspective, ACTA's
Internet provisions are plainly not as bad as those contemplated by
SOPA. Over the course of several years of public protest and pressure,
the Internet provisions were gradually watered down with the removal of
three strikes and you're out language. Other controversial provisions
on statutory damages and anti-camcording rules were made optional
rather than mandatory.
While the Internet provisions may not be as bad as SOPA, the remainder
of the agreement raises many significant concerns.
The Polish government is reconsidering signing the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement after several
government sites were hit with denial of service attacks. A government
minister admitted the government had failed to fully consult the public
on the issue.
Bill C-56, the anti-counterfeiting bill that opens the door the Canadian
implementation of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, has been
referred to the Industry Committee for review. The government imposed
time allocation on the bill to move it to committee. The debate on the bill
yesterday suggested that all parties support the premise of the
legislation, but the opposition wants further study and potential
amendments. Perhaps most troubling was the intervention of the Liberal
party, who are seeking to extend the bill to seizures of in-transit
shipments. In Europe, in-transit shipment seizure provisions have led to
seizures of generic pharmaceuticals, creating a major
access-to-medicines concern.Jun.13/13Comments (0)
Ariel Katz reports that the University of Toronto has notified
Access Copyright that it will not extend the current licence agreement.
It points to a range of factors - the SCC decisions, copyright reform,
and open access among them - to argue that there should be substantial
reductions in the royalty rate. The university is open to negotiating a
new agreement with that in mind. Meanwhile, Western is adopting much the
same position, notifying Access Copyright that it will not be renewing but leaving the door open to a new agreement with reduced fees.Jun.11/13Comments (0)
The Canadian Library Association issued a statement
late last week on the Access Copyright lawsuit filed against York
University, urging it to abandon the lawsuit and pointing to several
legal concerns.May.21/13Comments (0)
The National Post reports
that the Competition Bureau of Canada plans to launch an investigation
into Google Canada. The scope of the investigation is unknown.May.21/13Comments (0)
The Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy, and Ethics has released its study on privacy and social media.
The report includes recommendations for new Privacy Commissioner
guidelines. The NDP supplemented those recommendations with nine
additional legislative proposals that include mandatory security breach
disclosure, order making power for the Privacy Commissioner of Canada,
and the inclusion of privacy issues as part of a national digital
economy strategy.Apr.23/13Comments (1)
The federal government has responded
to a question from MP Charlie Angus on privacy and security breaches by
revealing that there have been thousands of breaches over the past
decade. The stunning response acknowledges over 3,000 breaches that have
affected over a million Canadians.Apr.23/13Comments (0)
The debate over the state of wireless competition in Canada continues to rage. Last week, I appeared on CBC's The Current,
as part of a 30 minute segment devoted to the wireless industry. The
issue was also discussed during Question Period at the House of Commons,
with Industry Minister Christian Paradis focusing on competition and consumers:
We want to enhance competition and investment in this country, and
this is why we adopted this policy back in 2008 for the AWS spectrum.
Let me say that the price went down by an average of 11% since then, and
we will continue this way with the 700 megahertz spectrum. We launched
consultation with the industry to make sure that we enhance competition
and provide better choice and better rates for our consumers.
OpenMedia has an interesting post
that takes a close look at the claim that the large Canadian geography
is responsible for high cell phone prices. The post notes that coverage
actually focuses on as little as 20 percent of the country. Apr.22/13Comments (0)
