The fallout from Bill C-11 has been the subject of several posts this week, including the demands from a wide range of services for exceptions to the law and warnings from streaming services such as PBS and AMC that they may block the Canadian market due to the regulatory burden imposed by the law. While those stories focus on the availability of services and content in Canada, a new Variety report points to another negative impact from the bill: less film and television production in Canada, at least in the short term. Throughout the Bill C-11 debate, there were concerns that the large streamers might pause their productions in Canada given the uncertainty over whether they would “count” for the purposes of new CRTC imposed contribution requirements. In other words, the bill could initially lead to less investment in Canada.
Post Tagged with: "disney"
U.S. Congressional Hearing Blames Canada, Again
Howard Berman, the U.S. Congressman who is sometimes called the "representative from Hollywood", was at it again today, leading hearings at the Foreign Affairs Committee on Global IP Theft that quickly became yet another case of "Blame Canada." As implausible at seems, there is a regular sport in the U.S. of claiming that Canada is the source of evil when it comes to IP laws.
At today's hearing, Berman demanded that Canada implement the WIPO Internet treaties, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees inaccurately claimed that " Canadian movie theaters account for nearly 50 percent of all camcorded sources worldwide" and urged Canada to pass legislation similar to the DMCA (Disney Chair Richard Cook noted that the anti-camcording law has reduced Canadian camcording), and Universal Music Group President Zach Horowitz claimed that Canada has the highest level of online piracy in the world, that we are a haven for unauthorized music sites, and that "there is no recourse against online theft." After this misleading and inaccurate testimony, Horowitz then urged the Congessional panel to ask Canadian officials "to explain their reputation as a nation unfriendly to the policies at the heart of copyright and the realities of the borderless digital marketplace."
A Fair(y) Use Tale
A must-see video on copyright and fair use.
Disney To Offer TV Free Online
The WSJ reports this morning that Disney plans to offer popular tv shows such as Lost and Desparate Housewives for free online. The changes in the television broadcast industry in the U.S. over the past six months, with widespread Internet distribution of content, is nothing short of remarkable. In Canada, […]
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