Post Tagged with: "c-11"

Day After C-11 Passes, U.S. Chamber Looking For More Canadian Copyright Reform

Hours after Bill C-11 passed third reading in the House of Commons (the bill receives second reading in the Senate today), the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is already calling for more reform. Expressing its support for Canada’s entry into the Trans Pacific Partnership talks, the Chamber argued “issues still remain […]

June 20, 2012 — 4 comments — News

2nd Tier Status for Canada?: 5 Questions On Canada’s Entry to The Trans Pacific Partnership Talks

U.S. President Barack Obama is expected to announce today that Canada has been offered the chance to participate in the Trans Pacific Partnership negotiations. The offer will be described as big win for the Canadian government, yet reports indicate the conditions for entry may have been very steep. While much […]

June 19, 2012 — 18 comments — News

Bill C-11 Passes Third Reading, Heads to the Senate for Final Approval

As expected, Bill C-11 passed third reading in the House of Commons last night with a vote of 158-135. It now heads to the Senate, where it received its first reading last night.

June 19, 2012 — 1 comment — News

The Battle over C-11 Concludes: How Thousands of Canadians Changed The Copyright Debate

Nearly 15 years of debate over digital copyright reform will come to an end today as Bill C-11, the fourth legislative attempt at Canadian copyright reform, passes in the House of Commons. Although the bill must still receive Senate approval, that is likely to be a formality that could happen very quickly. Many participants in the copyright debate view the bill with great disappointment, pointing to the government’s decision to adopt restrictive digital lock rules as a signal that their views were ignored.

There is no sugar-coating the loss on digital locks. While other countries have been willing to stand up to U.S. pressure and adopt a more flexible approach, the government, led by Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore on the issue, was unwilling to compromise despite near-universal criticism of its approach. It appears that once Prime Minister Stephen Harper made the call for a DMCA-style approach in early May 2010, the digital lock issue was lost. The government heard that the bill will hurt IP enforcement, restrict access for the blind, disadvantage Canadian creators, and harm consumer rights. It received tens of thousands of comments from Canadians opposed to the approach and ran a full consultation in which digital locks were the leading concern. The NDP, Liberals, and Green Party proposed balanced amendments to the digital lock rules that were consistent with international requirements and would have maintained protection for companies that use them, but all were rejected. Yet with an eye to the Trans Pacific Partnership as well as pressure from the U.S. government and U.S. backed lobby groups, seemingly no amount of evidence or public pressure would shift its approach. The net result is incredibly disappointing with even Conservative MPs assuring constituents that digital lock enforcement against individuals is unlikely (there are no statutory damages for non-commercial circumvention).

Despite the loss on digital locks, however, the passage of Bill C-11 features some important wins for Canadians who spoke out on copyright.

June 18, 2012 — 78 comments — News

The MPAA’s Secret Lobby Campaign on Bill C-11 and a Canadian SOPA

Over the past few years, the Motion Picture Association – Canada, the Canadian arm of the MPAA, has recorded nearly 100 meetings with government ministers, MPs, and senior officials. While their lobbying effort will not come as a surprise, last October there were several meetings that fell outside the norm. On October 18, 2011, MPA-Canada reports meeting with Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore, Foreign Minister John Baird, and Industry Canada Senior Associate Deputy Minister Simon Kennedy, all on the same day. These meetings occured less than three weeks after the introduction of Bill C-11 and the decision to sign ACTA, and only eight days before SOPA was launched in the U.S.

To get a sense of how rare these meeting were, this is the only registered meeting John Baird has had on intellectual property since Bill C-11 was introduced and ACTA was signed by Canada. Similarly, since the introduction of Bill C-11, James Moore has only two intellectual property meetings listed – this one with MPA-Canada and one in March 2012 with the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (in fact, Moore had only three meetings on intellectual property in all of 2011. Those meetings were with MPA-Canada, the Canadian Recording Industry Association, and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce). Even the Simon Kennedy meeting was a rarity as he has had multiple meetings with pharmaceutical companies, but only two (MPA-Canada and the Canadian Council of Chief Executives) that appear to have included copyright.

Given how unusual it is for a single lobby group to gain access to two of Canada’s leading cabinet ministers and a senior department official on the same day, it begs the question of how they did it.

June 14, 2012 — 46 comments — News