Post Tagged with: "copyright"

ACTA Emergency Communique: Add Your Name Today

Last week, I had the honour of delivering the opening keynote address at a conference on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement held in Washington.  The event brought together over 90 academics, practitioners and public interest organizations from five continents at American University Washington College of Law.  The resulting papers are among the most comprehensive anywhere on the implications of ACTA for countries around the world.

I plan to post my presentation shortly, but with negotiations scheduled to resume next week of greater urgency is a draft statement the reflects the conclusion of the meeting.  The statement is now open to endorsements.  Please read and consider adding your name to it by the deadline of Wednesday, June 23rd at 9:00 am by visiting the PIJIP site or emailing acta.declaration@gmail.com.  A draft is posted below:

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June 21, 2010 14 comments News

ESAC Says C-32 Needed To Guard Against Video Game Cheating

The Entertainment Software Association of Canada's Danielle LaBossiere Parr published an op-ed in the Calgary Herald supporting the digital lock provisions in C-32 (Heritage Minister James Moore saw fit to tweet the op-ed).  The op-ed doesn't contain many surprises – entertainment software is booming in Canada (and has been for years without copyright reform) but the ESAC says without reforms the future of the business is threatened.

There are three claims that demand a response, however. 

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June 21, 2010 39 comments News

Agenda For Round Nine of ACTA Talks Posted

The agenda for the ninth round of ACTA talks scheduled for Lucerne, Switzerland from June 28 – July 1st.  All the major issues – civil enforcement, criminal provisions, Internet issues, and border measures – are on the agenda.  The agenda includes two elements that suggest considerable progress has been made.  […]

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June 18, 2010 6 comments News

House of Commons Breaks for the Summer, No C-32 Committee Until Fall

With news that the House of Commons has taken a break for the summer, there will be no legislative committee examining Bill C-32 until the fall.

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June 18, 2010 3 comments News

The Bloc on C-32: Only Consumers Suffer Frustration From Digital Locks

After a post on the Bloc's position on three strikes, I was contacted by Bloc Heritage critic MP Carole Lavallée, who wanted to clarify her position on the government's copyright bill.  She provided a detailed response that argues that three strikes is worth considering and expressess doubt about the value of placing digital locks at the foundation of the new copyright bill. Lavallée notes that digital locks do little for creators and create considerable harm and frustration for consumers.  She adds that WIPO is an obsolete approach, advocating instead for the introduction of a levy system.

It should be noted that this suggests that all three opposition parties have now expressed concern with C-32's digital lock provisions. The NDP have been outspoken in their opposition and Liberal critic Marc Garneau has indicated that the bill is missing an exception to allow consumers to break locks for private, non-commercial purposes.  With the Bloc now stating that locks are not a solution, the minority Conservatives will need to find a compromise in order to pass the bill.

Her full response – posted with permission – is below:

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June 17, 2010 54 comments News