How Canadians are about to get royally screwed like the US, and what you can do

Canadian Parliment will be considering changes to the Canadian Copyright Act and below is some detailed links and info but in a nutshell, if it passes:

• It will be illegal for you to transfer your CDs to your iPod, you'll have to but a new version of the song/movie (and quite possibly software) every time you buy a new device or start using a new format. (media companies LOVE this one).
• Anyone who takes a pic of you automatically owns the copyright to that pic. Meaning if you stage a shot, and find some dude to snap a shot of you (with your camera) doing a sweet gap or logride, that strange dude owns the picture, not you. Don't forget your copyright release papers on the trail if you ever plan on submitting shots for magazines. (this will also extend to family portraits, wedding shots, or any other time you hire a photographer).
• If you don't work things out with that strange dude, you won't be able to use your picture until 50 years after he's dead! That's when things enter the public domain (as opposed to 50 years from creation as it is currently).

Basically, this is a DMCA for Canada (insert cold shiver here).

Here's more info about the law and what you can do about it:

Canadians: HOWTO stop the Canadian DMCA, act now!

For the past 30 days, Michael Geist has been listing reasons why Canadians should be alarmed at Canada's proposed new copyright law, which will bring the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act to Canada's lawbooks. The DMCA has been roundly criticized as terribly upsetting the copyright balance, resulting in researchers being jailed and threatened with lawsuits, an unchecked expansion of the copyright monopoly into areas unenvisioned by law (region-coding, limiting compatibility), and a chilling effect on free speech.
Canada's DMCA, Bill C-60, is slated to be one of the first orders of business for the new Parliament. Today, Geist has posted a list of thirty things you can do to fight Bill C-60 in Canada. This is the make-or-break moment, when Canada decides whether it is going to follow the US down the same tiger-pit it fell into in 1998, giving American media and technology companies the legal tools to clobber Canadian culture and industry, or whether Canada is going to learn from America's mistakes and produce a copyright law for the digital century that promotes new forms of expression and creativity.

how bill c-60 will affect you

http://www.digital-copyright.ca/billc60/Consumer_Fact_Sheet.shtml

what do do:

All these people's email addresses are easily found on-line.

• Write to your local Member of Parliament. Letters (which are better than email) from just a handful of constituents is enough to get the attention of your local MP.
• Write to the Prime Minister of Canada.
• Write to Bev Oda, the Minister of Canadian Heritage. Minister Oda is one of the two ministers responsible for copyright policy in Canada. Prior Canadian Heritage Ministers have been perceived to be close to U.S. copyright lobby groups and copyright collectives.
• Write to Maxime Bernier, the Minister of Industry. Minister Bernier is responsible for the Copyright Act in Canada. Despite the fact that Minister Bernier is viewed as a strong advocate of reduced government intervention, the rumour mill suggests that he supports DMCA-style reforms.
• Ask each political party where it stands on copyright. Copyright policy could prove to be a divisive issue in the months ahead - ask each political party for their views on the issue.
• Write to Canadian Heritage's Copyright Policy Branch. The Copyright Policy Branch is home to a large contingent of bureaucrats focused on copyright matters.
• Write to Industry Canada's Intellectual Property Policy Directorate. The IPPD is Industry Canada's counterpart on copyright policy, though it addresses a broader range of IP issues. Link

booo

It will be illegal for you to transfer your CDs to your iPod, you'll have to but a new version of the song/movie (and quite possibly software) every time you buy a new device or start using a new format. (media companies LOVE this one).

1. How and who will inforce this?
2. Does this mean Bearshare etc will be illegal? Again, how will they inforce this?

Sounds pretty retarded… The problem is with the enforcement of everything though.

1. How and who will inforce this?

The it's not about inforcing it on every individual, but it will be used to outlaw technologies. For example, if your iPod contains 10% legally downloaded tracks, then the other 90% would assumably be from downloading and ripping your CDs, both of which would be illegal. So it could be argued that only 10% of iPod use is legal and therefore the iPod itself should be declared illegal. At very least an arguement could be made that Apple should have to turn off any features that let you upload content to your iPod that wasn't DRM'd and provided through the iTunes interface (content that is deemed worthy and 'safe').

2. Does this mean Bearshare etc will be illegal? Again, how will they inforce this?

By attacking the ISPs, by suing people based on their DHCP addresses, y'know, the sort of thing that's going on in the US right now….

In the end, it's not about enforcement, it's about making completely legitimate actions illegal to increase entertainment company profits by taking the consumer out of consumer electronics.

Do it.

The Music industry is happy with the terms of the new copyright legislation, as is the ISP industry and the [HTML_REMOVED]#8220;software manufacturing[HTML_REMOVED]#8221; industry. Public rights advocates on the other hand are notably unhappy. This alone should be a sign that the new legislation is not balanced. (From the link that was posted).

I work in the arts industry licensing and copyrighting intellectual property, I can guarentee you, no one in the music industry is happy with the new copyright law, thats a lot of b-crap. What the music industry is though, is very pro-active and vocal about what their rights are and should be and have organizations like SOCAN and CRIA who do fight for songwriters and musicians rights. Photographers, filmakers, writers, ISP users should speak up as well or form stronger lobbying groups to represent themselves and their interests in this oh so important issue.

It will get even worse if this law goes through as all art forms will be hurt and creative freedom stiffled.

thats bull if you buy the cd you should be able to use it as much as you want for personal use

cough thought police cough.

The Music industry is happy with the terms of the new copyright legislation, as is the ISP industry and the

reminds me of this:
Napster Bad!

ok let's consider oh…50Cent Get Rich or Die Tryin' sold 6.3 million copies in the US alone (11 mil world wide) now lets say that from every album sale 50 cent only gets $0.12 soo that gives him 6 300 000*0.12 = $756000 just from the sales of one album in one country, plus ticket sales, plus GUnit clothing. $756K is rich as it is.

And people say the industry will go broke. What a bunch of liars

thats bull if you buy the cd you should be able to use it as much as you want for personal use

Yup, I bought it so I can do what I want with it. I haet the bullshit attitude that basically I'm paying to borrow the music.

Yup, I bought it so I can do what I want with it. I haet the bullshit attitude that basically I'm paying to borrow the music.

That's pretty much what the DMCA is, you may own the medium, but you don't have any rights to do what you want with it. In effect, you don't own the technology you buy, you just pay an indefinate rent on it.