In my continuing effort to remake this blog into the “all Canadian copyright, all the time” blog
- Since the legislation was introduced, there has been quite the protest surge.
- Michael Geist ran a five part series this week trying to outline real world scenarios that illustrate what kind of problems this legislation would cause in our day to day lives. Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five. All are worth reading.
- If you’re tired of Geist, how about a different law Professor. Jeremy deBeer is a law professor at the University of Ottawa, and he actually gets modern technology. You can see him answer questions about this proposed law from readers at the Globe & Mail–lots of good stuff in there. Or you can read his piece in the National Post: Canada’s new copyright bill: More spin than ‘win-win’.
- Watch Prentice introduce the bill, and see some immediate reaction. (Note, putting this on YouTube would be more illegal if the bill passes, ironically.)
- Here see the BNN analysis, which includes responses from the above mentioned Professor deBeer. What really galls me about the “pro” commentator–Sookman–here is that he does a very U.S.-style “repeat the talking points” presentation without any reference to reality. He repeats the lie that we didn’t previously have the right to put music we had purchase on CD onto an iPod, and that using a DVR to timeshift TV is currently illegal–it’s like he doesn’t want Canadians to even acknowledge the existence of “fair use”/”fair dealing” rights. The he goes on to say that no company would ever use digital locks to try to restrict the customers, because “the market would take care of that”–hasn’t he paid attention to the last decade in the US? Then he says no company would ever try to sue individuals–again, hasn’t he been watching what’s happened in the US? And then there’s that bit about how there are some business models that don’t work without this kind of law–as if the whole point of legislation is sustaining outmoded business models, not about serving the interests of the Canadian people. Sigh.
- See Charlie go after Prentice in Question Period. Note again how Prentice ignore the actual questions and just hits his talking points over and over. Apparently the text of the legislation isn’t the only thing he picked up from his American friends.
- I’m still unsure whether Prentice is fully evil, or just a kind of dumb guy who doesn’t really understand what he’s legislating. When the people from Search Engine finally got him on the phone for a ten minute interview (Prentice hangs up mid-interview when it becomes apparent he doesn’t like the way the questions are going, with a lame “gotta go to Cabinet” excuse–he then refuses a followup) he repeats some of the lies above–like “copy-protection is not the norm”, “no company would do this”, “the market will take care of it”, etc. When asked about very simple scenarios he dodges the questions, and dismisses them as “arcane” or “very technical”. He also seems confused about exactly what his legislation says–I wonder if he’s even read what the RIAA passed him.
- OK, maybe that was a bit too much–but there’s no question that this legislation was driven by US interests. That just makes the whole “made in Canada solution” talking point more evil. I guess they’re hoping if they say it enough times people will just start to believe it.
- They may be underestimating the Canadian media, though. We’re a bit less likely to just repeat the points. Some examples of what the various editorial pages are saying (sadly the local paper just runs a CP he-said-she-said piece, as does the other “local”):
- Globe & Mail: Copyright cock-up
- Vancouver Sun: The beat will go on despite the federal Conservatives
- Calgary Herald: Copyright law would turn millions into criminals
- Langley Advance: Copyright bill makes us crooks
- Regina Leader-Post: New law will make it hard to live in the past
- Toronto Star: Not all sides are represented in debate on copyright bill
- Vancouver Sun: ‘Win-win’ Copyright Act still has plenty of losers
- Ottawa Citizen: Questions about copying
- Owen Sound Sun-Times: Is Big Brother getting a boost?
- Prince George Citizen: Copyright law heavy-handed
- Sudbury Star: MP3 legislation makes too many criminals
- Nanaimo Daily News: Government copyright bill not enforceable
- Victoria Times-Colonist: Made-in-America copyright law
- Wellland Tribune: Target file-sharing sites
- Brantford Expositor: Digital copyright and law
- Brantford Expositor: Big Brother eyes MP3 players
- Kingston Whig-Standard: Big Brother Will Be Watching
- And it’s not just the op-ed pages, of course. There are some public interest groups (remember–the ones Prentice refused to consult with before drafting his legislation) as well:
- Canadian Library Association: Canadian Library Association Disappointed, Concerned with New Copyright Legislation
- Documentary Association
- Canadian Association Of University Teachers:New Copyright Bill Harms Educators and Researchers
- Canadian Federation Of Students: Students Condemn U.S.-Style Copyright Legislation
- Canadian Music Creator’s Coalition: Copyright Reform Bill Doesn’t Help Canadian Artists
- Creator’s Copyright Coalition: Straw in the wind: the mindset behind C-61
The sad truth, though: I can’t see the government falling over copyright. All the opposition parties have shown they will cave to Harper, even in a minority, if he’s willing the play chicken with them. Sigh.
