Canada's New DMCA Considered Worst Copyright Law 234
loconet writes "The government of Canada is preparing to attempt to bring a new DMCA-modeled copyright law in Canada in order to comply with the WIPO treaties the country signed in 1997. (These treaties were also the base of the American DMCA.) The new Canadian law will be even more restrictive in nature than the American version and worse than the last Canadian copyright proposal, the defeated Bill C-60. Among the many restrictive clauses in this new law, as Michael Geist explains, is the total abolishment of the concept of fair use: 'No parody exception. No time shifting exception. No device shifting exception. No expanded backup provision. Nothing.' Geist provides a list of 30 things that can be done to address the issues."
Here's a suggestion: (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Here's a suggestion: (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Wait a minute... (Score:5, Insightful)
Note to Canadians: It's NOT a good idea to try to beat the US on everything!
Not very likely (Score:1, Insightful)
A law without enforcement (Score:5, Insightful)
So what's the use of a law if you're not to enforce it?
Re:A law without enforcement (Score:5, Insightful)
Selective enforcement.
They only enforce it when you need leverage over someone. And since practically everyone will be a rampant violator, whenever the government wants to shut somebody up, or suspect them of rape, murder, vandalism or whatever and can't prove it, they'll just charge them with 4000 counts of violation of this law, and threaten them with a billion dollar penalty.
Re:The last straw (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Not news (Score:5, Insightful)
American politics is the will of American corporations nowadays. It was US corporations which pressured the US government to strong arm everyone in the WIPO to adopt these rules.
The *AA's managed to influence the laws in many countries by influencing American politicians to serve their own purposes. We all lose.
Now that they have made almost everyone else adopt these laws, they've started to lobby the government to harmonize US laws with everyone else. So, they managed to get everyone else's laws updated so they could then get domestic laws updated.
How messed up is that?
Cheers
Re:Unlikely (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Not news (Score:1, Insightful)
It's about implementing poor laws like America has done with the DMCA, and _because_ America has done so. Canada's _current_ government feels it is more important to follow suit than to listen to its people.
Canada's IP laws work just fine right now, thanks very much. Changing them would benefit corporations, not citizens.
Re:Contact Your MP (Score:5, Insightful)
My MP has responded in a timely manner to even emails that I've sent him about my opposition to specific pieces of legislation. I will wait until it is actually tabled before I start doing anything. Right now, it's just FUD. "A possible bill that may be proposed might have horrible consequences for the state of copyright in Canada."
Re:Not news (Score:5, Insightful)
In fact, there is a concern that while legislation is being proposed to conform to treaties, the opportunity will be seized to extend the laws beyond what is strictly required. In particular, it was found [michaelgeist.ca] that some members of Canadian government are being influenced (financially, etc.) by U.S. lobbies. So, there is a real danger that overly restrictive laws get put in place in order to appease U.S. corporations (or the U.S. government, depending on how you want to look at it).
It's not as simple as saying that Canada must comply with the treaties it has signed. As you say, the law can be implemented in various ways, and we must all do our best to insure that they are implemented in sane, democratic, and freedom-preserving ways. (Which may mean not implementing them at all.)
Re:Unlikely (Score:3, Insightful)
Just tell everybody during the campaign that the conservatives want to make it illegal to put your CDs on your iPod, so go vote.
Re:Consider the Source! (Score:3, Insightful)
Boing Boing, Excess Copyright, Centre for Intellectual Property Policy, Digital Copyright Canada,
Re:How probable? (Score:3, Insightful)
On the other hand though, my Usenet connection is likely to be humming along 24/7 for the next couple of months.
Re:Wait a minute... (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:Wait a minute... (Score:3, Insightful)
This isn't garbage legislation, the kind of legislation that will never pass but is introduced to make their voting base happy. This legislation is important to the rich CRIA lobbyists and the Conservatives want to reward them for their support. The Conservatives mentioned these new laws in their Throne Speech, so it's definately important to them.
The Conservatives would never introduce something if they thought it was going to fail, simply because they couldn't stand the loss of face. Furthermore, it won't fail, since the Liberals aren't going to fight over an issue that won't garner them much votes. If the Liberals do fight, the Conservatives will make the bill another confidence motion and force an election, which the Liberals will lose.
VCRs? Try videotaping a movie! (Score:3, Insightful)
After sitting through another insulting pre-movie commercial, nothing would surprise me anymore:
Image of a prison security camera monitoring an imate pacing his cell. Commentary (paraphrased): "he camcordered a movie, now the justice system gets to camcorder him for 10 years".
That is now actual law. With rather scary commercials to back this up. People can seriously be put in PRISON for 10 years, for recording a movie. And the rest of us get to be called potential criminals after we've just paid our $15.
And you think we're being alarmist and melodramatic? How extreme do these measures have to get? The fact that this is even being discussed outside the confines of a dystopian sci-fi novel should make you seriously afraid.
Re:It used to be that Canada was the place to go.. (Score:2, Insightful)
[Shakes Fist]DAMN THOSE NEOCONS!
Oh, right...the world isn't quite so simple is it?
There are a couple of rather significant flaws with your naive, juvenile view of Canadian politics-
a) The Conservative government is a minority government. Legislation doesn't pass unless it passes with a majority, which the conservatives cannot accomplish themselves.
b) Stringent, DCMA-style copyright regulations have been in the works for years -- yeah, back in the Liberal era. You can bet the Liberals will support this, because they basically authored it.
The next time your knee starts jerking to blame everything you perceive as negative on Stephen Harper, try to get some semblance of facts.
So where's the bill? (Score:4, Insightful)
http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Pub=status&Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=39&Ses=2 [parl.gc.ca]
This supposed "Super-DMCA" is nowhere on the list of house or private members bills.
The government never gets through its order of business anyways, so if this thing is supposed
to get tacked onto the end of the list at some future date, it's unlikely to even
get a reading during this session of parliament.
Sure smells like fear-mongering, rather than anything serious..