Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to participate in a hearing on ACTA in Brussels sponsored by Members of the European Parliament Alexander Alvaro and Marietje Schaake. Other participants included Luc Devigne, the head of the European ACTA delegation, and representatives from eBay and EuroISPA. The full video of the hearing is posted below. My presentation begins just after the 5:00 minute mark.
Post Tagged with: "copyright"
Next ACTA Negotiation Round Details Leaked
Information on the next round of ACTA negotiations has leaked out with reports that it will be held in Lucerne, Switzerland from June 28 – July 2, 2010.
Why Is CRIA Reluctant To Provide Public Specifics About Copyright Reform?
Last week, the Canadian Recording Industry Association appeared before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage with discussion that focused largely on copyright reform (media coverage of the appearance here). While copyright was the key issue, what was striking was CRIA's reluctance to actually specify what reforms it supports. That may sound unusual, but a review of recent public statements suggests that it is actually quite typical. In recent years, CRIA has become very reluctant to provide specific views on reforms, seemingly relying instead on the sort of backdoor, lobbyist-inspired meetings that are the talk of Ottawa due to the Rahim Jaffer situation.
The transcript has not been posted yet, however, a review of the unofficial transcript shows that CRIA President Graham Henderson provided no legal specifics in his opening statement. During questioning, he was repeatedly asked what his organization wants. First Liberal MP Pablo Rodriguez asked, eliciting the following response:
Study Finds Fair Use Industry Worth Trillions
The CCIA has released a new study on the economic contributions of the fair use industries. Using the same metrics as WIPO uses to calculate the contributions of the copyright industries, the study finds that the sectors relying on fair use generate trillions in revenue in the U.S., are growing […]
A Copyright Bill Loved (or At Least Accepted) By All
In addition to my Hill Times op-ed this week on the transformation of Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore from iPod minister to iPadlock minister, the paper includes a second article with some predictions for copyright reform. The opening of the article includes a quote from Canadian Heritage Parliamentary Secretary Dean Del Mastro on the reform process:
"It would be naïve of me to say that we could introduce a bill on copyright that would be loved on all sides."
Del Mastro's comment is consistent with the conventional wisdom on copyright reform, namely that it is a contentious issue pitting users against creators that is difficult to reconcile. Yet the conventional wisdom here may be wrong. It is true that a copyright bill is unlikely to be loved by all sides. In fact, a bill loved by any side is probably a bill that does not strike the right balance (that is one of the reasons Moore's shift to strong support for C-61 digital lock rules is so problematic – one group loves it, some tolerate it, many hate it). Far better, is a bill that is acceptable to all sides. That means there will be compromises for all with the goal of crafting a bill that meets the most stakeholder needs and maintains the copyright balance.
Is that possible? I think so. The key elements in such a bill would include:
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