Among the Wikileaks cables released on Canada, is one devoted to summarizing a meeting I had with embassy officials in April 2007. At the meeting I noted the shift away from DRM, doubts about camcording claims, and calls for fair use.
Fair Dealing by Giulia Forsythe (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/dRkXwP
Copyright
Wikileaks Cable: CMPDA Supports Notice-and-Notice System
A Wikileaks cable from 2005 reveals that the Canadian Motion Pictures Distributors Association, the Canadian arm of the MPAA, told the U.S. embassy that it supports the notice-and-notice approach for ISP liability. The cable states that “in CMPDA’s view, the advent of peer-to-peer filesharing has lessened the need for notice-and-takedown, […]
Wikileaks Cables Show Massive U.S. Effort to Establish Canadian DMCA
This post highlights some of the key cables. An earlier post discussed confirmation that public pressure delayed the introduction of a copyright bill in 2008 and a parallel post focuses on the linkages between CRIA and the U.S. government lobbying effort.
Wikileaks on CRIA and the U.S. Government: How They Combine to Lobby on Canadian Copyright
For example, a 2006 cable discusses efforts to convince Canada to join the U.S. WTO complaint against China (I wrote about the case here and here). The cable notes that embassy officials met with CRIA’s Graham Henderson to discuss “the U.S. Government’s role in encouraging the Government of Canada to pass legislation implementing the WIPO Internet Treaties.” Henderson also used the meeting to reveal the results of a private Canadian government consultation meeting on China and provided a private CRIA analysis on the case. The cable concludes that “CRIA is leading the charge to get the GOC to join the US case.”
Wikileaks Cable Confirms Public Pressure Forced Delay of Canadian Copyright Bill in 2008
From December 2007 to mid-February, senior GOC officials and well-informed private sector contacts assured the Embassy that legislative calendar concerns were delaying the copyright bill’s introduction into Parliament. Our contacts downplayed the small – but increasingly vocal – public opposition to copyright reform led by University of Ottawa law professor Dr. Michael Geist. On February 25, however, Industry Minister Prentice (please protect) admitted to the Ambassador that some Cabinet members and Conservative Members of Parliament – including MPs who won their ridings by slim margins – opposed tabling the copyright bill now because it might be used against them in the next federal election. Prentice said the copyright bill had become a “political” issue. He also indicated that elevating Canada to the Special 301 Priority Watch List would make the issue more difficult and would not be received well.
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