Post Tagged with: "copyright"

Debating the SAC Proposal

My posting yesterday on the SAC proposal resulted in several emails that essentially asked – if you are against DRM and against levies, what do you propose to do?  That's a fair question, though I did not think that the post was meant to bash levies but rather those that dismiss alternative proposals as distractions.  I did note that I think the SAC proposals suffer from some significant flaws.  To reiterate and expand:

  • There are always competing policy priorities.  Given the importance of broadband access for commerce, communication, culture, and education, I think that any proposal must not unduly undermine the policy goal of universal access.  I think that a $5 monthly increase would represent a sufficiently significant price increase such that it might drive some away from broadband.
  • The SAC proposal only addresses music.  I expect that others – video, software, and cultural groups – will also demand their piece of the pie. In fact, that's already happening with the proposal for ISPs to contribute 2.5 percent of profits for creating Canadian new media content.  I think that any proposal must comprehensively deal with P2P and this one does not.
  • The $5 monthly fee strikes me as absurdly high given the revenues of the music industry.  Music continues to generate significant revenues and this additional billion in revenue bears little relation to any possible revenue decreases that might be attributed to P2P (which is itself debatable).
  • I am not convinced that this model requires government intervention at this time.  These are still early days and there is the possibility that the market could adopt this model – either by a voluntary consumer fee or a negotiated ISP license for its customers – without legislative intervention.
  • There are some doubts whether the proposal is consistent with Canada's international copyright obligations.
  • There are some doubts about the fairness of the distribution of a levy. 

Notwithstanding the doubts, I am not an absolute critic of levies. 

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February 26, 2008 28 comments News

The SAC “Distraction”

The Songwriters Association of Canada proposal to fully legalize peer-to-peer file sharing by adding a $5 levy to the monthly Internet bill has generated considerable discussion over the past week.  Much of that discussion has been negative with many Canadians arguing that they don't download music and should not be […]

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February 25, 2008 20 comments News

ITWorldCanada on the BCBC

ITWorldCanada covers the emergence of the Business Coalition for Balanced Copyright as a key voice in the copyright debate.

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February 24, 2008 Comments are Disabled News

Conservative Party Accused of Copyright Infringement

The Ottawa Citizen runs a front page story alleging that the Conservative Party is being accused of copyright infringement for using a song without permission in last week's video on Liberal spending proposals.  The press conference was led by Industry Minister Jim Prentice.  Warner/Chappell Music Canada has sent a letter […]

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February 22, 2008 17 comments News

Corporate Giants Call for Copyright Compromise

My weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, Vancouver Sun version, Ottawa Citizen version, homepage version) focuses on last week's big copyright reform development – the emergence of the Business Coalition for Balanced Copyright.  I note that under most circumstances, Telus and Rogers Communications fiercely compete in the marketplace.  The same can be said for Google and Yahoo!, the world’s two leading rival Internet search companies.  Yet last week these companies joined forces with a who's who of the telecom, Internet, retail, and broadcast communities in a single cause – the call for fair and balanced copyright reform.
Following months of Industry Minister Jim Prentice citing business demands as a critical factor behind his commitment to copyright reform, a powerhouse group of companies and business associations formed the Business Coalition for Balanced Copyright (BCBC) to speak for themselves. 

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February 19, 2008 10 comments Columns