One day after Bill C-59 cleared the House of Commons (it had first reading in the Senate yesterday), Bill C-47, the Olympic marks bill, also received unanimous approval. The final bill includes the parody exception and specific protection for the electronic media. It now moves to the Senate for final […]
Post Tagged with: "Movie Camcording"
Movie Camcording Bill Clears Debate, Hearings, and Three Readings in 80 Minutes
Bill C-59, the anti-camcording bill, blazed through the House of Commons yesterday. The bill was debated and given all three readings (hearings were deemed unnecessary) in only 80 minutes, less time than it takes to actually watch most movies. The bill is now at the Senate awaiting approval. Justice Minister […]
Behind the Scenes of Canada’s Movie Piracy Bill
With Bill C-59 scheduled for second reading and debate today, my weekly Law Bytes column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) highlights some of the behind the scenes developments that led to Canada's movie piracy bill. Based on documents obtained under the Access to Information Act, the column reveals that Canadian Heritage Minister Bev Oda held a private meeting in Ottawa with Canadian Motion Pictures Distributors Association President Douglas Frith one year before the bill was introduced, at which Frith provided the government with draft legislation – legislation that the lobby group itself had crafted – that likely served as the basis for what is now Bill C-59. Moreover, a briefing note prepared by department officials for Oda in advance of the CMPDA meeting help explain the barrage of lobby pressure on the camcording issue as the Minister was advised that there was little evidence that the industry’s proposal would prove more effective that current Canadian law.
The CMPDA meeting focused on several issues, including counterfeiting and signal theft, yet it was a movie piracy amendment to the Criminal Code that was clearly top of mind.