Stop CDMCA

The First Week of the Fight Against Bill C-61

It has now been one week since Industry Minister Jim Prentice unveiled Bill C-61. While the bill yielded the predictable voices of immediate support from lobby groups anxious to import the DMCA to Canada, it did not take long for the government's communication strategy to go off-the-rails (a none-too-impressive performance by Prentice at the press conference did not help). By virtually any standard, it has not been a good week for a minister who is often described in glowing terms as future leadership material. The media coverage has nearly universally criticized the legislation. A sampling of masthead editorials include:

Further, the online anger has surely exceeded the Minister's expectations:

June 19, 2008 — Comments are Disabled — Stop CDMCA

Vancouver Sun, Ottawa Citizen Slam Canadian DMCA

Two of Canada's leading papers have issued masthead editorials critical of the Canadian DMCA. The Vancouver Sun doesn't pull any punches in its review of Bill C-61:

the amendments are draconian. While Prentice attempted to sell them as a balance between the rights of content creators and consumers, it's clear that consumers – and in many cases, creators – can only lose should the new regime become law.

The editorial concludes:

The fact that the bill relies on the American method is not just a coincidence, either, as it is almost entirely the result of the intense pressure U.S. authorities placed on Ottawa. In contrast, there was precious little public consultation during drafting of the proposed law. Prentice claims that the bill is a "win-win," though it's not entirely clear who will win. What is clear is that if the bill becomes law, all consumers, and many content creators, are destined to lose.

The Ottawa Citizen, meanwhile, laments that "enforcement will be difficult, if not impossible, and it will limit uses of digital material that have nothing to do with piracy." It concludes that:

June 19, 2008 — Comments are Disabled — Stop CDMCA

Jim Prentice’s Letters to the Editor

After months of saying little and refusing to meet with many user, education, and consumer groups, Industry Minister Jim Prentice is apparently planning to counter as many negative articles and editorials as he can find. After yesterday's Toronto Star letter (which generated the predictable critical response from Star readers), Prentice […]

June 18, 2008 — Comments are Disabled — Stop CDMCA

NDP Response to the Prentice DMCA

A blog reader writes with the response they received from NDP Leader Jack Layton on Bill C-61: Thank you for sharing your concern over Bill C-61, An Act to amend the Copyright Act. The NDP is strongly opposed to this bill and we are calling on MPs from other parties […]

June 18, 2008 — Comments are Disabled — Stop CDMCA

A Week in the Life of the Canadian DMCA: Part Three

The week in the life of the Canadian DMCA continues (day one, day two) with Josee.

In the morning, Josee teaches a class on media in the digital world. The class is conducted in a distance-learning classroom and includes both her students and students from a school in Edmonton using Alberta's SuperNet network. This is the second year that she has run the course and she is using the same lessons, which include extensive copies of articles for course materials. In the afternoon, Josee teaches a communications class, making use of a website that features a copyright and an “all rights reserved” notice. A student in the class presents a research assignment that features short excerpts from a DVD copy of the movie Broadcast News and passages that are cut-and-pasted from an electronic book that contains a digital lock. Josee is a big Calgary Flames fan. The Flames are playing that night with the game broadcast on pay-per-view. Josee has a dinner commitment, but decides to buy the game and record it with her PVR to watch when she gets home.

If Industry Minister Jim Prentice’s Bill C-61 becomes law, all of these copying activities arguably violate the law.

June 18, 2008 — Comments are Disabled — Stop CDMCA