Conservative MP Rob Cannan published an op-ed supporting Bill C-32. Cannan says he has heard from some constituents and notes that the Ministers are open to amendment proposals.
Archive for June, 2010
WIPO Publishes Study on the Public Domain
WIPO has published a scoping study on the public domain by Belgian law professor Séverine Dusollier. The study includes discussion of the impact of anti-circumvention rules on access to public domain works.
“Copyright Bill Could Digital Lock Us All”
Athabasca University VP Research Rory McGreal has an op-ed in the Calgary Herald that calls for an amendment to C-32 that would allow by-passing digital locks for any legal purpose.
“Copyright Reform Needs ‘Made in Canada’ Approach”
The Vancouver Sun features an op-ed on Bill C-32 which argues the bill "contains serious flaws and undue restrictions on consumer freedom."
Setting the Record Straight: 32 Questions and Answers on C-32’s Digital Lock Provisions, Part Four
The first three posts on the 32 Questions and Answers on Bill C-32's digital lock provisions focused first on general issues in the bill, second on C-32's circumvention exceptions, and third on the missing exceptions. Today's post discusses the consumer-focused provisions in the bill. For those that want it all in a single package, I've posted the full series as PDF download.
The Consumer Provisions
This section features answers to the following questions:
- Bill C-32 purports to allow consumer to legally shift music from CDs to their iPods or other devices. Do they lose that right if there are digital locks on their CD?
- Does Bill C-32 allow consumers to make legal backup copies of most commercial DVDs?
- Does Bill C-32 allow consumers to shift content from a DVD to a portable video player such as an iPad?
- C-32 purports to allow consumer to legally record television shows, yet cable companies are increasingly inserting anti-copying technologies into some broadcasts? Does C-32 allow for those programs to be recorded?
- C-32 includes an exception for unlocking cellphones. Isn't that a positive new development?
- Does C-32 require businesses to notify consumers about the presence of digital locks?
- Isn't there an "analog hole" that would allow someone to record a DVD without circumventing the digital lock?
Recent Posts
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 201: Robert Diab on the Billion Dollar Lawsuits Launched By Ontario School Boards Against Social Media Giants 
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 200: Colin Bennett on the EU’s Surprising Adequacy Finding on Canadian Privacy Law 
Debating the Online Harms Act: Insights from Two Recent Panels on Bill C-63 
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 199: Boris Bytensky on the Criminal Code Reforms in the Online Harms Act 
AI Spending is Not an AI Strategy: Why the Government’s Artificial Intelligence Plan Avoids the Hard Governance Questions
