The Vancouver Sun features an op-ed on Bill C-32 which argues the bill "contains serious flaws and undue restrictions on consumer freedom."
Post Tagged with: "c-32"
Setting the Record Straight: 32 Questions and Answers on C-32’s Digital Lock Provisions, Part Four
The first three posts on the 32 Questions and Answers on Bill C-32's digital lock provisions focused first on general issues in the bill, second on C-32's circumvention exceptions, and third on the missing exceptions. Today's post discusses the consumer-focused provisions in the bill. For those that want it all in a single package, I've posted the full series as PDF download.
The Consumer Provisions
This section features answers to the following questions:
- Bill C-32 purports to allow consumer to legally shift music from CDs to their iPods or other devices. Do they lose that right if there are digital locks on their CD?
- Does Bill C-32 allow consumers to make legal backup copies of most commercial DVDs?
- Does Bill C-32 allow consumers to shift content from a DVD to a portable video player such as an iPad?
- C-32 purports to allow consumer to legally record television shows, yet cable companies are increasingly inserting anti-copying technologies into some broadcasts? Does C-32 allow for those programs to be recorded?
- C-32 includes an exception for unlocking cellphones. Isn't that a positive new development?
- Does C-32 require businesses to notify consumers about the presence of digital locks?
- Isn't there an "analog hole" that would allow someone to record a DVD without circumventing the digital lock?
The Government’s Standard Form Response to C-32 Letters
Government MPs have begun responding to constituent letters on Bill C-32. The current letter is very detailed with a lengthy discussion on the merits of the bill. A sample is posted below:
Thank you for your recent correspondence regarding Bill C-32, our government’s proposal to update the Copyright Act.
Reynolds on the C-32 Balance
Dalhousie law professor Graham Reynolds published an op-ed in the Mark News, in which he argues that the claims of balance are more marketing than reality owing to the digital lock provisions.
Setting the Record Straight: 32 Questions and Answers on C-32’s Digital Lock Provisions, Part Three
The first two posts on the 32 Questions and Answers on Bill C-32's digital lock provisions focused first on general issues in the bill and second on C-32's circumvention exceptions. Today's post discusses the missing exceptions – circumvention exceptions found in other countries but missing from the Canadian bill. For those that want it all in a single package, I've posted the full series as PDF download.
The Missing Exceptions
This section features answers to the following questions:
- Does C-32 include "authorized circumventers" as is used in New Zealand to facilitate legal circumventions?
- Are companies required to unlock locked content for legal purposes under C-32?
- Does C-32 include an exception for non-infringing access, such as accessing DVDs from other regions?
- Does C-32 include a circumvention exception for personal uses?
- Does C-32 include a circumvention exception for digital archiving?
- Does C-32 include a circumvention exception to protect minors?
- Does C-32 include a circumvention exception for filtering software programs?
- Does C-32 include an exception for circumventing digital locks that become obsolete or broken?
- Does C-32 include an exception for court cases, laws, and government documents?
- Bill C-32's digital lock provisions apply to copyrighted works. Does that mean that public domain (ie. out-of-copyright) works are not affected?
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