Search Results for "c-11" : 411

Proposed Bill C-11 Amendments: Gov Says No Changes to Digital Locks, Fair Dealing or User Provisions

The Bill C-11 committee has just opened the clause-by-clause review of the copyright bill with 39 amendments on the table: 8 from the goverment, 17 from the NDP, and 14 from the Liberals. The good news is that the misinformation campaign on issues such as fair dealing, user generated content, consumer provisions, statutory damages, and Internet provider liability has largely failed as the government is not proposing significant changes to those provisions. These all represent good compromise positions that will likely remain intact.

Unfortunately, the digital lock provisions will also remain largely unchanged as the government is not proposing to link circumvention to copyright infringement (both the NDP and Liberals will put forward such amendments). The music and movie lobby are getting one of their demands as the enabler provision will be expanded from targeting sites “primarily designed” to enable infringement to providing a service primarily for the purpose of enabling acts of infringement. The CIMA demand for an even broader rule has been rejected.

A summary of some of the proposed amendments, by party (note: subject to possible change should a party decide not to introduce the amendment):

March 12, 2012 — 64 comments — News

Copyright Bill Hits the Home Stretch: C-11 Clause by Clause Review Today

Days after the Conservative government introduced its copyright reform bill in June 2010, Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore spoke out in support of the legislative package by notoriously labeling critics as “radical extremists” who should be confronted until “they are defeated.” This week, the copyright bill hits the home stretch as the Bill C-11 legislative committee conducts its final “clause-by-clause” review.

The bill has been a subject of debate for nearly 20 months and over the course of that period, there has been a surprising role reversal. My weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) notes that Moore’s vision of strong support from copyright lobby groups has been replaced by demands to overhaul the legislation with a broad array of extreme measures, while the supposed critics – library groups, educators, consumer associations, and individual Canadians – have endorsed much of the legislation with only requests for modest changes to the controversial digital lock provisions.

March 12, 2012 — 5 comments — Columns

Liberals Launch Bill C-11 Petition Calling for Balanced Digital Lock Rules

The Liberal Party has launched a petition calling for an amendment to the Bill C-11 digital lock rules. Consistent with views expressed from business groups, creator associations, consumer groups, and education associations, the petition calls for an amendment that would link circumvention to actual copyright infringement. It does so by […]

March 10, 2012 — 17 comments — News

Closing Time on C-11: Help Stop the Final Push for SOPA-Style Reforms & Efforts to Gut Fair Dealing

The long road of Canadian copyright reform is nearing an end as the Bill C-11 committee concluded hearing from witnesses yesterday and indicated that it will begin a “clause-by-clause” review of the bill starting on Monday. While there will still be some additional opportunities for debate – third reading in the House of Commons, Senate review – the reality is that next week’s discussion will largely determine the future of Canadian copyright law.

For the thousands of Canadians that have participated in consultations and sent letters to their MPs, there is reason for concern. On one side, there are the major copyright lobby groups who have put forward a dizzying array of demands that would overhaul Bill C-11. As I described it in a post yesterday:

The net effect of the music industry demands represents more than a stunning overhaul of Bill C-11 as it is effectively calling for a radical reform of the Internet in Canada. Taken together, the proposals would require Internet providers to block access to foreign sites, take down content without court oversight, and disclose subscriber information without a warrant. On top of those demands, the industry also wants individuals to face unlimited statutory damages and pay a new iPod tax. If that were not enough, it also wants an expanded enabler provision that is so broadly defined as potentially capture social networking sites and search engines.

On the other side, there are groups such as Access Copyright that are calling on their members to urge the government and committee MPs to undo the Supreme Court of Canada’s CCH decision on fair dealing.