|
Monday June 18, 2012 |
Nearly 15 years of debate over digital copyright reform will come to an
end today as Bill C-11, the fourth legislative attempt at Canadian
copyright reform, passes in the House of Commons. Although the bill
must still receive Senate approval, that is likely to be a formality
that could happen very quickly. Many participants in the copyright
debate view the bill with great
disappointment, pointing to the government's decision to adopt
restrictive digital lock rules as a signal that their views were
ignored.
There is no sugar-coating the loss on digital locks. While other
countries
have been willing to stand up to U.S. pressure
and adopt a more flexible approach, the government, led by Canadian
Heritage Minister James Moore on the issue, was unwilling to compromise
despite near-universal criticism of its approach. It appears that once
Prime Minister Stephen Harper made the call
for a DMCA-style approach in early May 2010, the digital lock issue was
lost. The government heard that the bill will hurt IP
enforcement, restrict
access for the blind, disadvantage Canadian creators, and harm
consumer rights. It received tens of
thousands of comments
from Canadians opposed to the approach and ran a full consultation in
which digital locks were the leading concern. The NDP, Liberals, and
Green Party
proposed balanced amendments to the digital lock rules that were
consistent with
international requirements and would have maintained protection for
companies that use them, but all were rejected. Yet with an eye to the
Trans Pacific Partnership as well as pressure from
the U.S. government and U.S. backed
lobby groups,
seemingly no amount of evidence or public pressure would shift its
approach. The net result is incredibly disappointing with even
Conservative MPs assuring constituents that digital lock enforcement
against individuals
is unlikely (there are no statutory damages for non-commercial
circumvention).
Despite the loss on digital locks, however, the passage of Bill C-11
features some important wins for Canadians who spoke out on copyright.
c-11, canada, copyfight, copyright Slashdot, Digg, Del.icio.us, Newsfeeder, Reddit, StumbleUpon, TwitterTagsShareMonday June 18, 2012 |
|
View
|
|
|
Tuesday May 12, 2009 |
|
The University of Toronto iSchool Podcast has posted a podcast of a recent lecture I gave on copyright as part of the CASLIS Toronto speaker series. copyfight, copyright, podcast Slashdot, Digg, Del.icio.us, Newsfeeder, Reddit, StumbleUpon, TwitterTagsShareTuesday May 12, 2009 |
|
|
Wednesday April 22, 2009 |
|
Cory Doctorow posts a great piece on the copyfight, battles at WIPO, and the future fight over ACTA. copyfight, copyright, doctorow Slashdot, Digg, Del.icio.us, Newsfeeder, Reddit, StumbleUpon, TwitterTagsShareWednesday April 22, 2009 |
|
|
Saturday November 08, 2008 |
|
Cory Doctorow explains "Why I Copyfight." copyfight, copyright, doctorow Slashdot, Digg, Del.icio.us, Newsfeeder, Reddit, StumbleUpon, TwitterTagsShareSaturday November 08, 2008 |
|
|
