Post Tagged with: "copyright"

Wikileaks Cables Show Massive U.S. Effort to Establish Canadian DMCA

Wikileaks has released dozens of new U.S. cables that demonstrate years of behind the scenes lobbying by U.S. government officials to pressure Canada into implementing a Canadian DMCA. The cables include confirmation that Prime Minister Harper personally promised U.S. President George Bush at the SPP summit in Montebello, Quebec in 2008 that Canada would pass copyright legislation, U.S. government lines on copyright reform that include explicit support for DMCA-style digital lock rules, and the repeated use of the Special 301 process to “embarrass” Canada into action. In fact, cables even reveal Canadian officials encouraging the U.S. to maintain the pressure and disclosing confidential information.

This post highlights some of the key cables. An earlier post discussed confirmation that public pressure delayed the introduction of a copyright bill in 2008 and a parallel post focuses on the linkages between CRIA and the U.S. government lobbying effort.

April 29, 2011 — 32 comments — News

Wikileaks on CRIA and the U.S. Government: How They Combine to Lobby on Canadian Copyright

One of the most interesting revelations in the newly released Wikileaks cables is the close connection between the U.S. government and the Canadian Recording Industry Association on in lobbying the Canadian government on copyright reform. Several cables reveal private meetings, access to internal documents, and strategy discussions.

For example, a 2006 cable discusses efforts to convince Canada to join the U.S. WTO complaint against China (I wrote about the case here and here). The cable notes that embassy officials met with CRIA’s Graham Henderson to discuss “the U.S. Government’s role in encouraging the Government of Canada to pass legislation implementing the WIPO Internet Treaties.” Henderson also used the meeting to reveal the results of a private Canadian government consultation meeting on China and provided a private CRIA analysis on the case. The cable concludes that “CRIA is leading the charge to get the GOC to join the US case.”

April 29, 2011 — 1 comment — News

Wikileaks Cable Confirms Public Pressure Forced Delay of Canadian Copyright Bill in 2008

A new Wikileaks cable confirms that the Conservative government delayed introducing copyright legislation in early 2008 due to public opposition. The delay – which followed the decision in December 2007 to hold off introducing a bill after it was placed on the order paper (and the Fair Copyright for Canada Facebook group took off) – lasted until June 2008. The U.S. cable notes confirmation came directly from then-Industry Minister Jim Prentice, who told U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins that cabinet colleagues and Conservative MPs were worried about the electoral implications of copyright reform:

From December 2007 to mid-February, senior GOC officials and well-informed private sector contacts assured the Embassy that legislative calendar concerns were delaying the copyright bill’s introduction into Parliament. Our contacts downplayed the small – but increasingly vocal – public opposition to copyright reform led by University of Ottawa law professor Dr. Michael Geist. On February 25, however, Industry Minister Prentice (please protect) admitted to the Ambassador that some Cabinet members and Conservative Members of Parliament – including MPs who won their ridings by slim margins – opposed tabling the copyright bill now because it might be used against them in the next federal election. Prentice said the copyright bill had become a “political” issue. He also indicated that elevating Canada to the Special 301 Priority Watch List would make the issue more difficult and would not be received well.

April 28, 2011 — 24 comments — News

Election 2011: The Digital Policy Surprises

Digital policies may not have played a starring role in the current election campaign, but neither have they been ignored. My weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) notes that for the first time, all major political parties have devoted a section of their platform to digital issues and both the Liberals and New Democrats ran events focused on digital policy. While there is general agreement on the key issues – topping the list are Internet access and pricing, telecom competition, copyright, and the privacy-security balance – each party offers a surprise that gives some insight into its digital policy priorities.

April 26, 2011 — 20 comments — Columns

UK Music Publishers Take Down Canadian Sheet Music Site

The UK Music Publishers Association has succeeded in taking down the International Music Score Library Project, an enormously popular Canadian-based sheet music site that has posted thousands of public domain scores. The site has faced legal threats from European publishers in the past and worked hard to ensure that all […]

April 21, 2011 — 18 comments — News