Post Tagged with: "copyright"

Copyright Week in Canada: Bill Coming Thursday as Conservatives Indicate Openness to Amendments

This is copyright week in Canada as multiple reports indicate that the long-awaited copyright bill will be tabled on Thursday.  The recent round of reports are noteworthy for several reasons.  First, they confirm earlier reports that the government plans to introduce DMCA-style anti-circumvention legislation.  This suggests that the digital lock provisions that were the source of enormous public outrage (and the dominant issue during last summer's copyright consultation) will remain largely unchanged from Bill C-61 and will unquestionably be the most hotly debated aspect of the bill.

Second, the reports also drop hints of other aspects of the bill.  While I previously reported there will be no flexible fair dealing provision, the reports indicate that there will some changes to fair dealing.  This comes as little surprise, given that C-61 included provisions on time shifting and format shifting.

Third, the government is increasingly turning its attention to what comes after the bill is introduced.  The Canadian Press reports that the government is planning to pressure the opposition parties to hold summer hearings in an effort to fast-track the bill through the House of Commons.   While this raises concern for many groups who may face challenges participating in summer hearings (and the hearings themselves risk becoming abbreviated as MPs cut the process short to get back to their constituencies), Industry Minister Tony Clement has also indicated that the government is open to compromise:

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May 31, 2010 32 comments News

Canadian Students on the Fight for Fair Copyright

The Canadian Federation of Students have launched a new video calling on students across the country to support the fight for fair copyright.  A French-language version is also available.

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May 28, 2010 41 comments News

DMCA-Style Reforms: “Not a Reasonable Policy To Foster Innovation or Respect for Copyright”

Canwest's Sarah Schmidt features an terrific story in which Industry Minister Tony Clement admits that he has infringed copyright in loading songs onto his iPod.  Like many Canadians, Clement says that he shifted many CDs to his iPod, which now contains over 10,000 songs.  What makes the article noteworthy is not the acknowledgement of infringement – Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore admitted infringing activity in using his PVR last year – but rather the focus on the need to update copyright law by legalizing activities that most Canadians view as perfectly acceptable.  Notes Clement:

"Well you see, you know I think I have to admit it probably runs afoul of the current law because the current law does not allow you to shift formats. So the fact of the matter is I have compact discs that I've transferred, I have compact discs from my children or my wife that I've transferred onto my iPod. None of that is allowable under the current regime. It shows that the current regime is not realistic and is not modern to encompass how people obtain their entertainment in today's world. That's what happens in a family. You do tend to share music that way and I think most people would find that to be perfectly acceptable behaviour. But our current law is so antiquated, it doesn't contemplate that situation."

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May 27, 2010 40 comments News

Lessons from Fashion’s Free Culture

Several people have written to recommend a recent TED talk by Johanna Blakley that focuses on the benefits derived from fashion's free culture.  The video is well worth watching.

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May 27, 2010 2 comments News

Lawyers Launch Copyright Class Action Against Thomson Reuters

Canadian lawyers have launched a copyright class action lawsuit against Thomson Reuters.  The lawsuit stems from the use of legal documents filed in court proceedings in a database marketed by the company.

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May 27, 2010 3 comments News