Fair Dealing by Giulia Forsythe (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/dRkXwP

Copyright

Angus Introducing Private Copying Levy Bill, Flexible Fair Dealing Motion

NDP MP Charlie Angus has shaken up the copyright reform process today with a pair of proposed measures. The first is a private member's bill that would expand the scope of the private copying levy to include digital audio recorders (DARs) such as iPods. Bill C-499 comes as a response to earlier court cases that ruled that DARs are beyond the scope of the current law. The second is a motion (M-506) that calls for support to reform the Copyright Act's fair dealing provision by adding the words "such as" to make the current list of fair dealing categories illustrative rather than exhaustive. In addition, the motion codifies the six criteria discussed in Canadian caselaw for determining whether a particular use of a work qualifies as fair dealing.

I'm certainly supportive of Angus' effort to push copyright issues into the spotlight. I'm particularly supportive of the motion on fair dealing. The motion states:

Fair Dealing Provisions within the Copyright Act

That, in the opinion of the House, the government should amend section 29 of the Copyright Act in such a way as to expand the Fair Dealing provisions of the act; specifically by deleting section 29. and inserting the words,

29. Fair dealing of a copyrighted work for purposes such as research, private study, criticism, news reporting or review, is not an infringement of copyright.

29.1 In determining whether the dealing made of a work in any particular case is fair dealing, the factors to be considered shall include,

(a) the purpose of the dealing;
(b) the character of the dealing;
(c) the amount of the dealing;
(d) alternatives to the dealing;
(e) the nature of the work; and
(f) the effect of the dealing on the work.

This approach is precisely what thousands of Canadians supported during last summer's copyright consultation. It strikes the right balance – it's fair dealing, not free dealing – and it is based on current Canadian jurisprudence. Greater fair dealing flexiblity benefits creators, innovators, educators, and the broader public. The motion deserves strong support from all parties.

March 16, 2010 — 54 comments — News

Angus To Introduce Bill Proposing MP3 Levy

Billboard reports that NDP MP Charlie Angus plans to introduce a private member's bill that would extend the private copying levy to MP3 players.

March 15, 2010 — 13 comments — News

UK Digital Economy Bill Update

There has been a lot of activity on the UK Digital Economy bill in recent days including a leaked recording industry lobby document outlining its efforts to push the bill through and news that the Lib Dems plan to oppose the disconnection and web censorship provisions.

March 15, 2010 — 1 comment — News

Trosow on Why Copyright Fair Dealing Needs Flexiblity

UWO's Sam Trosow has posted a column on why Canada should enact a flexible fair dealing provision.

March 15, 2010 — 2 comments — News

U.S. on ACTA: Full Steam Ahead

This has been a remarkable two weeks for those tracking the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, as the proposed treaty has begun to attract attention at the highest political levels. The European Union has undergone the greatest change. First, the identification of the transparency holdouts led to a unanimous EU position favouring release of the text. This week, EC Commissioner for Trade Karel De Gucht stated: "I will see to it that at the next negotiating round, in April, the Commission will vigorously push its negotiating partners to agree to release the text." This leaves the U.S., South Korea, and Singapore as the remaining barriers to full transparency. Second, this week's European Parliament resolution places the European Commission on the defensive with respect to ACTA. The negotiations will continue, but Europe clearly faces internal challenges in the ACTA process.

The U.S. response to the European developments came yesterday, as President Obama reiterated his support for finishing ACTA. In comments on IP enforcement, Obama discussed the need to "aggressively protect" IP, pointing specifically to ACTA. The reference to ACTA was clearly meant to send a strong signal that the U.S. intends to continue its push for a treaty. Indeed, the U.S. has not changed its position on anything with respect to ACTA – it is one of the lone holdouts on the issue of transparency and its negotiating position on the text itself has not moved much through almost two years of negotiations. Consider the Civil Enforcement chapter, which was first proposed by the U.S. in July 2008 at the second round of ACTA talks in Washington. The recent leak of the latest version of the chapter shows that practically nothing has changed:

March 12, 2010 — 26 comments — News