CBC-Copyright debate turns ugly

CBC- Copyright debate turns ugly
Heritage minister stirs hornet’s nest with ‘radical extremist’ comments
By Peter Nowak – CBC News – June 24, 2010

Blayne Haggart doesn’t consider himself a “radical extremist,” which is why he’s chafing at possibly being labelled as such by Heritage Minister James Moore.

The 37-year-old Ottawa native thinks there are many positives in Bill C-32, the copyright reform legislation unveiled by Moore and Industry Minister Tony Clement earlier this month. But he says it also has a key flaw — it would make the breaking of any digital lock illegal, which could trump all the other positive provisions.

On his Orangespace blog, Haggart wrote that he doesn’t believe the government’s rationale for stronger copyright protection in general and the digital lock provision specifically — that they are essential to creative production — is supported by much evidence. He hopes that Bill C-32 can be modified and fixed when the parliamentary process begins in the fall.

Voicing such concerns, though, may brand him a radical extremist under Moore’s definition.

Read more

Copyright Reform Needs Made in Canada Approach

Vancouver Sun- Copyright Reform Needs Made in Canada Approach
By Kashif Admed and Eric Miller – Canwest News Service – June 11, 2010

Industry Minister Tony Clement knows only one way to write copyright laws for the country: heavyhandedly.

Although the Conservative-backed Bill C-32 provides a much needed modernization to Canadian copyright legislation, the proposed law contains serious flaws and undue restrictions on consumer freedom.

In an effort to be perceived as balanced, the act purports to expand consumer rights, but instead provides more favourable treatment to intellectual property holders.

While Canadians would be allowed to record programs and music for personal use, and educators would have the ability to access and copy online material for teaching purposes, these exceptions to infringement are rendered virtually ineffective by other provisions in the bill.

Michael Geist – The Canadian Copyright Bill: Flawed But Fixable

Michael Geist: The Canadian Copyright Bill: Flawed But Fixable

This afternoon, the government introduced the Copyright Modernization Act (or Bill C-32), the long-awaited copyright reform bill [the bill is not yet online, but I attended the media lockup in Montreal]. It is nearly two years since C-61 was introduced and nearly a year since the national copyright consultation, yet discouragingly some things have not changed. As I reported several weeks ago, Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore won the internal fight over Industry Minister Tony Clement for a repeat of C-61’s digital lock provisions and against a flexible fair dealing approach and today’s bill reflects those policy victories.

Michael Geist: Government May Be Altering Copyright Submissions…

Michael Geist: Government May Be Altering Copyright Submissions Without Consent

The copyright consultation has one of its biggest days today with a major town hall in Toronto, a roundtable hours before, and increased media coverage. The consultation has attracted growing attention in recent weeks as the chart on submissions below demonstrates. There are now over 3,000 submissions with the overwhelming majority of them speaking out against Bill C-61, anti-circumvention rules, and for stronger fair dealing (earlier charts here, here, and here).

Unfortunately, the chart is not entirely accurate in part because the government has effectively been altering some of the submissions. This issue has arisen because of the large number of Canadians that have chosen to use the CCER submission form service. The service allows anyone to submit their comments by either using a form letter or modifying the content as they see fit. The government has decided to treat virtually all submissions from the CCER IP address as the form letter and simply added the relevant name to a single copy of the letter (the chart below reflects the fact that each letter is, in fact, an individual submission. Note that this is not limited to CCER, the government is doing the same thing for a form letter from the Canadian Private Copying Collective). I am reliably told that 10 to 20 percent of people who use the CCER site modify their submissions. The government’s approach has wiped out those modifications entirely by adding names to a letter that they did not sign.

The Ottawa Citizen: Industry Minister Tony Clement announced

Copyright talks to maximize input
Opinions, suggestions of public to aid government in drafting new legislation

Vito Pilieci, The Ottawa Citizen July 22, 2009

The Ottawa Citizen: Industry Minister Tony Clement announced in Vancouver on Monday the government would begin nationwide consultations with Canadians to get feedback on copyright laws.

The first discussion was to be held that evening, another was held Tuesday evening in Calgary, and while the last-minute nature of these consultations might seem suspicious, at least one of Canada’s copyright watchdog groups says the short notice ensures that the voice of every consumer is being heard.

“This kind of approach plays to the strengths of the consumer movement around copyright,” said David Fewer, acting director of the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic at the University of Ottawa. “The copyright collectives have money and time and they can prepare glossy stuff and big studies and throw lawyers and lobbyists at this kind of stuff. But that takes time to prepare.”

Michael Geist: SpeakOutOnCopyright.ca Launches…

Michael Geist: SpeakOutOnCopyright.ca Launches

To help facilitate greater participation throughout the consultation process, today I am launching SpeakOutOnCopyright.ca. The site features dozens of posts and videos on Canadian copyright law, the Twitter #copycon stream, information on Bill C-61, and a Take Action page that highlights the ways individual Canadians can speak out on copyright.

CBC News: Online vote-swapping legal but voter beware, Elections Canada warns

Canada’s electoral watchdog has deemed online vote-swapping to be legal but warned that the scheme could be used to dupe voters into casting their ballot for certain parties.

Elections Canada began looking into the issue after a Facebook group surfaced last week urging people living in ridings likely to have tight races to swap votes as a way to keep Stephen Harper’s Conservatives from winning a majority.

James Hale, a spokesman for the federal agency, said the act of encouraging someone to vote in a particular way is allowed under the Elections Act.

It’s also acceptable for people to invite voters to participate in an organized strategic voting plan, whether on the internet or through other means, he said.

Michael Geist: Conservatives Promise to Re-Introduce Canadian DMCA

Michael Geist: Conservatives Promise to Re-Introduce Canadian DMCA

The Conservative Party has released its platform and it devotes a half-page to copyright that leaves little doubt that it plans to bring back Bill C-61 and continue to support ACTA. According to the platform:

A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will reintroduce federal copyright legislation that strikes the appropriate balance among the rights of musicians, artists, programmers and other creators and brings Canada’s intellectual property protection in line with that of other industrialized countries, but also protects consumers who want to access copyright works for their personal use. We will also introduce tougher laws on counterfeiting and piracy and give our customs and law enforcement services the resources to enforce them. This will protect consumers from phoney and sometimes dangerous products that are passed off as reliable brand-name goods.

CBC Tech Bytes: Copyright reform pledge gaining steam

CBC Tech Bytes: Copyright reform pledge gaining steam
Peter Nowak, CBCNews.ca

With so many issues vying for attention as the Canadian election draws nearer, it’s getting harder and harder to get support for one’s own particular favourite. It’s notable, then, that University of Ottawa internet law professor Michael Geist is managing to drum up significant political backing for balanced copyright reform legislation.

The Charlatan: Mixed reviews for copyright bill

The Charlatan: Mixed reviews for copyright bill
Cara Stern

University students may be negatively affected by the recently proposed Bill C-61, which, if passed as law, would amend current Canadian copyright laws.

Bill C-61 is an amendment to the Copyright Act, which intends to protect the rights of both the creator and user of copyrighted materials.

However, controversy has erupted due to the possible negative consequences for the users, specifically students and educators.

“There are a lot of clauses in this bill that can have a serious impact on post-secondary education and how students learn,” said Zach Churchill, national director for the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations.

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