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The Final Copyright Consultation Roundtable Summary: Who Said What

Although the government has still not posted the transcripts from the final two copyright roundtables, all ten have now been completed.  In all, 111 groups and individuals participated.  As the chart below shows, the music and publishing industries led the way with the most representatives, followed by film/movie, creators, collectives, libraries, and academics.  Most groups appeared once, the exceptions being ACTRA and the Songwriters Association of Canada (twice each).

Number of Appearances Groups/Individuals
8
  • Music Industry
  • Publishers
7
  • Film/Movie
  • Copyright Collectives
  • Performers, Artists and Writers
  • Library
  • Academics
  • ISPs
6
  • Civil Society
  • Students
5
  • Business Groups
  • Education
  • Other
4
  • Musicians/Songwriters
  • Museums
  • Broadcasters
  • Lawyers
2
  • First Nations Groups
  • Photographers
  • Software
  • Internet companies
1
  • Archivists
  • Blind

The top issues raised during the roundtables mirror the issues discussed in the thousands of submissions that have been posted online.  These include fair dealing, WIPO ratification, the approach on anti-circumvention, and ISP liability.  Other notable issues included crown copyright, statutory damages, and subject specific recommendations for photographers, archivists, and museums.  A full summary of key messages is posted below.

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September 10, 2009 Comments are Disabled News

The Missing Roundtable Transcripts

The copyright consultation is days away from its conclusion and missing content from the consultation website has emerged as a problem.  The posting of submissions has been inconsistent throughout the process, but that may be a result of volume.  The delays in posting transcripts from the invitation-only roundtables, however, is […]

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September 9, 2009 11 comments News

Bell: Why Don’t Content Owners Sue Our Subscribers?

The government has just posted the audio from the Toronto copyright roundtable held in late August. The discussion started off with a bang with comments from Bell Canada. Bell had a lot of good things to say including support for the positions of Business Coalition for Balanced Copyright.  The discussion […]

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September 9, 2009 11 comments News

CCER Posts Copyright Submission

The Canadian Coalition for Electronic Rights has posted its copyright consultation submission, addressing issues such as anti-circumvention legislation, fair dealing, ISP liability, and the need for technological neutrality.

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September 9, 2009 Comments are Disabled News

Six Days Left: Canadian Net Users Caught As Copyright Consultation Nears Conclusion

[The following post appears simultaneously as a guest post on TorrentFreak today]

Seven weeks ago, the Canadian government launched the first national copyright consultation since 2001.  The consultation, which has featured town hall meetings, by-invitation-only roundtables, an online discussion forum, and an open submission process, has attracted considerable interest with over 4,000 submissions to date.

While the overwhelming majority of those submissions have called for balanced reforms that would strengthen fair dealing, create a liability safe harbour for intermediaries, and link any new anti-circumvention rules to actual copyright infringement, there is reason for concern.

There are only six days left in the consultation and the thousands that have spoken out for fair copyright – the students, teachers, Internet users, software programmers, privacy advocates, librarians, and a growing number of creators – now find themselves under attack from two sides.

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September 8, 2009 15 comments News