Post Tagged with: "consumer provisions"

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?

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June 11, 2010 22 comments News