Post Tagged with: "c-11"

The Problem With Digital Locks

The National Post runs a masthead editorial that tears apart the digital lock rules in Bill C-11, describing the bill as a “flawed piece of legislation” that the government should either kill or amend on its own initiative. It argues: Preventing consumers from playing material that they have paid for, […]

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October 28, 2011 32 comments News

The Daily Digital Lock Dissenter, Day 18: Canadian Bar Association

The Canadian Bar Association, which represents 37,000 lawyers, law professors, and students from across the country, released an important submission on Bill C-32. The submission, which was approved as a public statement by both the National Intellectual Property and the Privacy and Access Law Sections of the CBA, did a nice job setting out the debate over Bill C-32 (I was once a member of the CBA’s Copyright Policy section but was not involved in the drafting of the Bill C-32 document).

The CBA submission is notable as a strong counter to the frequent attempts to characterize critics of digital lock rules or other elements of the bill as “anti-copyright.” Far from the claims that there is near unanimity in support of DMCA-style reforms, the CBA submission confirms that the legal experts who work on copyright issues on a daily basis are deeply divided on many issues. While some members supported the digital lock rules, there was a clear divide:

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October 28, 2011 2 comments News

Conservative MP on C-11’s Digital Lock Rules: No Risk of Liability for Breaking Locks

Since the introduction of Bill C-11 last month, the digital lock rules have emerged as the most contentious aspect of the bill with both the NDP and Liberals indicating they cannot support the legislation without changes to those provisions. While most of the Conservative responses have stuck to the talking point that they believe the bill is balanced, Conservative MP Lee Richardson, a member of the Standing Committee on Industry, recently provided a constituent with another reason for why the public should not be concerned by the digital lock rules.  According to Richardson:

If a digital lock is broken for personal use, it is not realistic that the creator would choose to file a law suit against the consumer, due to legal fees and time involved.

In other words, Canadians should not be concerned by digital lock rules because they can simply break the lock without fear of being sued. Richardson’s response raises several issues.

First, it is surprising to find Conservatives seeking support for their bill on the basis that Canadians need not worry about liability if they violate its provisions. Copyright reform is supposedly about updating Canada’s copyright rules and fostering greater respect for copyright law. Yet the message from Richardson suggests the opposite since Canadians will have less respect for copyright law as even their MPs tell them they need not fear violating the law given the minimal likelihood of a lawsuit.

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October 27, 2011 69 comments News

The Daily Digital Lock Dissenter, Day 17: Film Studies Association of Canada

The Film Studies Association of Canada is a national association with the goal of fostering and advancing the study of the history and art of film and related fields. It represents film and media scholars and educators in universities and colleges across the country, providing scholarly support, organising an annual meeting, publishing an academic journal (The Canadian Journal of Film Studies), and advocating on behalf of its members. It provided a detailed submission to the copyright consultation, with a particular focus on digital locks:

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October 27, 2011 2 comments News

Copyright Reform and the Case of Illicit T-Shirts

Jesse Kline has an notable op-ed in the National Post that criticizes Bill C-11’s digital lock rules. The column notes that just because someone breaks a digital lock does not mean they are infringing someone’s copyright.

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October 27, 2011 3 comments News