Post Tagged with: "clement"

Why the ECPA Lays the Groundwork To Kill The Do-Not Call List

While the focus of attention on the Electronic Commerce Protection Act has obviously been on the anti-spam provisions (more on the enforcement as well as changes to privacy and competition law shortly), possibly the biggest story in the bill is one that has been unreported and is not discussed in the government briefing materialsBuried at the very end of the bill, are provisions that would kill the National Do-Not-Call list.  Section 86, the second last provision in the bill, states simply that Sections 41.1 to 41.7 of the Telecommunications Act are repealed.  Those sections are the provisions that create a legislative framework for the national do-not-call list. 

What is going on?

It would appear that the Government is laying the foundation for killing the do-not-call list with plans to replace it with the approach found in the ECPA.  That could be a good news story, since the ECPA adopts an opt-in model (ie. companies need consent before sending electronic commercial messages).  This means that Canadians would not need to register their phone numbers on the list, since the presumption would be that there is no right to call unless the caller/marketer has express or implied consent.  While many of the current do-not-call exceptions are found in the ECPA, some are not.  For example, the newspaper exception contained in the do-not-call list is not part of the ECPA and would therefore disappear with this transition.

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April 27, 2009 Comments are Disabled News

Government to Introduce Anti-Spam Legislation

Industry Minister Tony Clement has placed an anti-spam bill on the Notice Paper, suggesting that the Government could introduce the bill as early as tomorrow.  The bill carries the unwieldly name of "An Act to promote the efficiency and adaptability of the Canadian economy by regulating certain activities that discourage […]

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April 23, 2009 5 comments News

CRIA Launching Grassroots Campaign for Canadian DMCA

As the Canadian government considers its next move on copyright reform, it would appear that the Canadian Recording Industry Association is readying a grassroots campaign to argue for a repeat of Bill C-61.  The following leaked email was widely distributed from an executive at one of the major record labels:

I'm sure that all of you are aware of the current challenges that we have within our industry around copyright infringement. What you may not know is that there is a lack of support within our government for laws that are currently in place NOT protecting copyright work. Virtually every other developed nation in the world has taken one key step to keep peer to peer downloading under control: they have modernized their copyright rules for the digital age. It is time Canada's Parliament implement similar, long overdue reforms, in keeping with our country's commitments under the 1996 WIPO Internet Treaties.

You can make a difference by understanding the current challenging situation, talking to your colleagues about it, and letting your MP know how you feel about this. Below and attached is a Frequently Asked Question form that can bring you up to speed on the issues and other info that you may not be aware of. Take a minute to review, and then please follow up by sending an email to your MP if you feel that music and these matters are important to you.  In addition to the email message, or as an alternative, please write a letter or call your MP and the Heritage and Industry Ministers. 

The letter then lists the addresses for Industry Minister Tony Clement and Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore along with links to a series of supportive organizations and a non-functioning link to a Copyright FAQ that is currently hosted at Universal Music (but indicating that the source is CRIA).

While the industry may face some challenges in generating a major grassroots campaign demanding a Canadian DMCA, more important is their planned Copyright FAQ which unsurprisingly tells only one side of the story.  There are no questions about the robust copyright collective system in Canada, private copying, the Songwriters proposal, the CMCC, the effectiveness of notice-and-notice to address online infringement, etc.  Instead, the FAQ states [with commentary in brackets from me]:

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April 9, 2009 29 comments News

Digital TV Transition Opens Door to “WiFI on Steriods”

As noted in last week's column, Canada finds itself lagging more than two years behind the United States in the transition from analog to digital television broadcasting, a process that could leave millions of Canadians without access to over-the-air television signals.  While the elimination of "free TV" would spark outrage in many communities, my weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) the most harmful effect of the slow migration will be felt in the competitiveness of Canadian telecommunications, not broadcasting.  

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February 24, 2009 6 comments Columns

Blurry Outlook for Canadian Digital TV Transition

Appeared in the Toronto Star on February 16, 2009 as Details of Transition to Digital TV a Little Blurry Starting this week, hundreds of U.S. television stations plan to shut down their analog broadcasts as they complete the transition to digital over-the-air broadcasts.  While the U.S. had planned for a […]

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February 16, 2009 Comments are Disabled Columns Archive