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61 Reforms to C-61, Day 11: Music Shifting Provision Non-Compatible With Online Music Lockers

In recent months there has been growing emphasis on the potential of online music lockers that allow users to access their music from anywhere.  Services include MP3Tunes, Musana, and Anywhere.fm.  While most of these services rely on the fair use provision in the United States (though Musana is based in France), Bill C-61's music shifting provision ensures that we will not see Canadian innovation in this space.  The music shifting provision is limited to devices owned by the user and thus clearly excludes network-based activities.  Much like the time shifting provision, this short-sighted approach not only limits what Canadians can do with the content they purchase, but also creates limits on innovative new business models.

8 Comments

  1. ROI
    Limits on innovation indeed. Even Microsoft has a home server product, specifically designed to share media content throughout your home network. If this bill passes, I would be breaking the law in using a device such as a home server computer.

    Of course there are many free alternatives from the Open Source community as well. But it doesn’t have to be a dedicated device, you can use any server based software and load your media and make it accessible via a web interface. There are thousands of free programs available to do this. All of which would become illegal if implemented.

    It seems the parties involved have forgotten what return on investment means. Well, at least for consumers.

  2. Anonymous says:

    It doesn’t mean they are correct in relying on US fair use, though. If the music wasn’t lawfully acquired in the first place, why is it so wrong to limit use of these services? Innovating new business models that ignore legitimate copyright issues do not have to be protected.

  3. iTunes?
    What about DRM-Free songs downloaded from the iTunes store? Does C-61 prevent us from (legally) making a backup of those files, even though Apple’s user agreement has said we could?

  4. R. Bassett Jr. says:

    Windows Home Server
    Please, just use Windows XP Pro’s software RAID, as it works at the hardware level and is not subject to the loss of data issue that Windows Home Server has. In fact, any version of XP works great as a file server! Windows 2000 Pro rules this space though, if you don’t mind setting up proper user permissions and access manually.

    Also, any wee little Linux distro that has a SAMBA server installed works well too, but it’s not as simple as Windows XP Home to setup.

    I can play World of Warcraft, while browsing the web, while streaming an 700mb Xvid DVD over my network, while using Internet Connection Sharing, on the following hardware:

    Asus P5K-VM motherboard ($115)
    Pentium Dual-Core 2160 ($79)
    2GB DRR2 667MHz RAM ($29)
    nVidia 8600GT 256MB Video Card ($99)

    I paid a bit more for the hardware last year, but this very modest computer blows my old expensive Pentium4 out of the water, sadly. Anyhow, it doesn’t take a super computer or very much money to create an amazing home server that can similatiously be a PC for gaming or every day use (buying a “home server” edition computer is a waste of a PC).

    If C61 goes through, it will simply limit many of the best things one can do with their computer hardware and their digital media.

  5. Exploder says:

    network backups too
    Which brings us to network backup as well. (again?) Whether in special purpose “music lockers”, or just caught in the dragnet with everything else on your computer during full network based backup. I wonder how we are to ease into a future of fully cloud based computing with these kinds of laws? Maybe that’s just for other people’s futures, along with all those other new and exciting things we can’t even name yet.

    Point by point, 61 squared times, this bill is unequipped and broken with respect to everything, except for giving the big media companies ABSOULTE total dictatorship over our media, in 1990’s terms.

    nameless one asks: “If the music wasn’t lawfully acquired in the first place, why is it so wrong to limit use of these services?”

    You had better have some legal proof of that accusation before you go limiting what I can do, buddy. Especially since the files I already legally own require no burden of proof, as of right now.

    nameless one then offers: “Innovating new business models that ignore legitimate copyright issues do not have to be protected.”

    Business models that deliberately RAPE our rights, presume us guilty without proof, and lead us into a digital despotism, MUST BE REJECTED.

    If the public is limited to only ever use digital methods that absolutely insure and enforce copyright, at our own expense, then we will enter a new dark age. Especially since Canada will be alone in this extremity, and we will not get Canadian-only versions of the entire computing world.

    61 reforms are not enough.

  6. It’s all about Monoplies
    Innovation??? Why would the record industry want that??

    10 YEARS the record industry has sued their way through the net. Instead of delivering products in a a format that consumers wanted (an MP3 audio file) – they simply have gone the legal route.

    Why would the lobbiests want anything different? There’s no money for the content monopolies to innovate.

    Nor is there money for Bell or Rogers to innovate. Their monopoply works very well thank you very much.

    With things like Rogers on Demand, Zip.ca (Rogers mail to house rental service), etc, etc. Why on earth would all the players want to do new ways of business?

    This bill is all about keeping the monopolies in tact.

    Who needs innovation when that’s a threat to the Monopolies??

  7. Anonymous says:

    nameless one wrote
    “It doesn’t mean they are correct in relying on US fair use, though. If the music wasn’t lawfully acquired in the first place, why is it so wrong to limit use of these services? Innovating new business models that ignore legitimate copyright issues do not have to be protected.”

    Wow a world were you are assumed guilty until proven innocent. Well, the manufacturer of your vehicle did nothing to prevent you from driving drunk, so stop by the nearest police station and turn it over.

  8. Is my music Illegal now?
    I have music that was downloaded off of the torrent sites. We have all bought albums that suck and we all avoid purchasing an album only for that one song that is decent. Never once have I sold the music I downloaded for free but I obviously don’t own the original album. So does this make my archive of music that I obtained before bill C-61 was passed illegal if I don’t own the original copies? I really hope not…does anyone have an answer for my question? I think the answer is probably yes but I am crossing my fingers!