Several people have written over the past week to repeat a question that arose regularly last December – "what do you think fair copyright reform looks like?" My 61 reforms to C-61 will address many needed changes to the Prentice bill, but it is simpler to point to the eight key principles that I outlined earlier this year. While I think the principles reflect a balanced approach that is consistent with the underlying values of copyright, only one is fully reflected in Bill C-61. The eight principles with commentary on the impact of C-61:
Post Tagged with: "fair dealing"
Taking Stock of My Fair Copyright for Canada Principles
FSAC “Dismayed” By Copyright Reform
The Film Studies Association of Canada, a national scholary association, has released a detailed statement on Canadian copyright reform, expressing their dismay at Bill C-61. The FSAC notes that the bill "will seriously threaten educational and scholarly rights, limiting access to copyrighted material and eroding academic protections offered by the […]
Canadians Stuck With Analog Rights in a Digital World
My weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, Ottawa Citizen version, Vancouver Sun version, homepage version) notes that earlier this month, some fans of the NBC television programs American Gladiators and Medium found themselves unable to digitally record the shows on their personal computers. The reason for the blocked recordings raises important technical and legal questions about the rights of consumers to "time shift" television programs in the digital era. The blocked recordings affected people that record television programs on their personal computers using the Microsoft Windows Vista Media Centre. Most people are unaware that Microsoft has inserted a feature that allows a broadcaster or content owner to stop the digital recording of a show by triggering a "broadcast flag" that specifies its preference that the show not be recorded. When the user tries to record it, Microsoft’s software recognizes the flag and issues a warning that the program cannot be recorded.
Copyfight at the Library of Parliament Committee
It looks like Industry Minister Jim Prentice has yet another group that will be unhappy with his forthcoming copyright bill – the Library of Parliament. Macleans Kady O'Malley live-blogged a committee hearing today (short summary here) during which a fight over copyright broke out. The Library called for a special […]
The CAB on Using Your VCR or PVR
The Canadian Association of Broadcasters, in a submission to the CRTC, states: in Canada, consumers who record TV shows for later viewing, whether on a VCR, in-home PVR or, potentially, through an NPVR, are infringing copyright. For this reason, Canadian BDUs are actively seeking an amendment to the Copyright Act […]
Recent Posts
From CCH to ChatGPT: How Canadian Copyright Law Played the Key Role in Deciding a Leading AI Training Data Case in India 
Starting Over: Court Filing Confirms the CRTC’s Streamer Contribution Decisions Are Dead With a Full Online Streaming Act Reset to Come 
The Name on the Window Was Enough: The Attacks on Kiva’s and the Normalization of Antisemitic Violence in Canada 
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 277: Kate Robertson on the Risks That Lie Behind Canada’s Unexpected Signing of the UN Cybercrime Convention 
A Surveillance Treaty in Disguise: The Trouble With Canada’s Quiet Decision to Sign the UN Cybercrime Convention
