"This is terrific news. Canada is one step closer to having a copyright law that will reflect the realities of the digital marketplace and allow the music industry a chance to prosper. We want to thank the government and the opposition parties for their support in getting to this stage."
Graham Henderson, CRIA (Canadian Recording Industry Association) president, March 24, 2005
"Not only is it not as tough as we would like. It doesn't provide the adequate legal framework that we would like." - Graham Henderson, CRIA president, June 8, 2005
With the government likely to introduce copyright legislation sometime in the next week or two, Canadians are likely to face a barrage of rhetoric from copyright owners, alternately saluting the government for introducing a copyright bill while also criticizing them for not going far enough to protect Canada's cultural industries.
I am certain I will have a thing or two to say about the bill once it is introduced, though assuming the government follows the plan unveiled in March, Canada is likely to get a bill that overwhelmingly addresses copyright owner interests (making available right, protection for technical protection measures rather than from them, new copyright rights for photographers and performers of sound recordings, etc.) with little for millions of individual Canadians other than the cold comfort that it could have been worse (the U.S. implementation of TPM protection and the adoption of a notice and takedown system, for example). There will be nothing on reforming the statutory damages provisions, moving toward fair use (as the Australians are considering), eliminating crown copyright, providing for greater transparency of the copyright collectives so Canadians have a better understanding of where the hundreds of millions of dollars collected each year ends up, and embracing policies that support the incredible flourishing of creativity that we are seeing on a daily basis today online.
Copyright owner rhetoric aside, it is unfortunate that we are also unlikely to see many people actually referring to statistical evidence to support their claims that copyright reform is desperately needed. There is a reason for this, of course. The evidence suggests otherwise. Statistics Canada today released the latest in a long line of reports on the Canadian cultural sector. Today's report, which focuses on the periodical industry, is the most comprehensive look at the industry from the government's statistics agency in many years. The verdict? The Canadian periodical industry has never been healthier with a steady increase in magazines, revenue, and circulation between 1993 and 2003. Government cultural programs, not stronger copyright laws, have supported that growth. In fact, digging deeper into the data reveals that Canadian magazines generated more than $10 million in revenues in 2003 from their websites and e-commerce activities.
This report is not an isolated incident. I've previously written about the music industry's exaggerations regarding its financial situation, with growth in both revenue and units shipped in the 13 months since the trial level file sharing decision last March (there is an answer to Graham Henderson's recent rhetorical comment that we don't know how many artists' careers have been hurt by that decision. We do. None). Statistics Canada also reported on economic growth in the television, industry last week, though it again called attention to the Canadian cultural deficit in late May.
The sum total of this data (and similar relatively recent data on film) is that there are good news, bad news, and really bad news stories here. The good news is that Canadian cultural industries are doing well and that Canadian cultural support is having its desired effect. The bad news is that notwithstanding the growth, Canada still has a significant cultural goods and services deficit so that for all the success, foreign creators and companies continue to take far more out of Canada, than Canadians earn abroad. The really bad news is that we are about to see proposals for Canadian copyright laws that will both ignore our successes and exacerbate our shortcomings.
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Ok, I must say, I remember not to long ago, the Canadians were telling how great Cananda is, that they don't have this problem and that problem, like the U.S. has. Well I got a question for ya, Wat do think about Canada now? HMMMMM??? Is Canada soooooooo great now?
I think not!
Im having a hard time understanding what this all means.
Is this good news or bad news for Canadian P2P users? What does it all mean?
Bad my friend, it's a step closer to the US but good in the fact they still need more than a whistle and a tune to sue our pants off
Ok so what has to happen before they can sue the shit out of me?
And Ive always wondered, say a music and movie DLing law was put in place now, these assholes can't start suing me for what I already have, they can only sue me for what I have DLed after the law is in place. Right/Wrong?
"I wouldn't recommend sex, drugs or insanity for everyone,
but they've always worked for me."
Hunter S. Thompson
The CRIA was told that they need to prove without a doubt that person is infringing their copyrights.Originally Posted by MrGonzo
That IP addresses are not proof enough.
The RIAA sees an IP addy on P2P and then they take that to a court clerk to issue a supeona for the ISP demanding details and then litigation.
Because of the nature of IP addies and the fact that some are dynamic means the person using the IP at the present may not be the guy who used it to download.
Thats the difference.
It would violate our privacy laws if some corporate assholes could just get our personal info just because they saw an ip address that may or may not belong to us
The law is not retro either meaning they would not go after you for stuff you already downloaded because they need to catch you red handed to prove you are DLing
______________________________________________
In the 60's, people took acid to make the world weird.
Now the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.
well thats a little bit of good news, I might just star using a proxy or find a way to mask my IP, because without it, they cant really monitor me right?
"I wouldn't recommend sex, drugs or insanity for everyone,
but they've always worked for me."
Hunter S. Thompson
There really isn't anyway to "Mask" your IP addy. Even if I use my router, although it may spit a different IP addy to the internet, I believe that it can still be traced back to my real IP addy! Am I right? Anyone?
I think Canada is great,in fact it's sooooooooooooooooooo great. :icon_thum
lumberjacks dont like music anyways
Yeah right. Just think how many less people are going to be uploading from canada.
Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be.
A couple of points.
First, Sony Batamax. The legal precedent is against the industry.
Second, even in the U.S, no one has actually lost a court case to the industry. People have been threatend by industry lawyers and settled out of court.
Third, Canada is still better then the U.S.
I'm actually a law student, I'll take a look at the legislation on Westlaw or Lexisnexus and get back to you.
Cheers.
im currious about the finacial strain on the industries. im sure they are doing just fine, but i still have to wonder if all these lawers and legislation is acutally reclaiming lost profits. some how i doubt it.
Not sure about masking, but using an anonymous proxy will TOTALLY hide your real IP. If they track the IP it will only lead to the proxy (which, of course will be somewhere besides Canada or the U.S.).
I am the raven, and I stole the light.
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