Fears de facto legalized file-sharing if people are made to pay a fee to cover its effects and thereby theoretically immune from charges of stealing.

Misery makes for strange bedfellows as they say, and the miserable state that the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA), much like the music industry here to the south of our northern neighbors, has actually compelled it to take the side of consumers by working to defeat the infamous so-called "iPod tax" that has been proposed by the Canadian Private Copyright Collective (CPCC).

Last Friday the Federal Court of Appeals granted the CRIA's request to intervene in the case, but did so with major caveat - that it will no way discuss file-sharing or P2P as it makes its case for defeating the proposal.

Federal Court Chief Justice Richard noted:

I am of the view that any submissions by CRIA as an intervenor would not be necessary or useful with respect to any issues other than three main issues before this Court. CRIA may have a useful, new and different perspective to bring to bear upon these proceedings, provided that it is confined to the three major issues before the Court.

The decision now allows the CRIA to file a 15 page memo and to have 20 minutes of time to argue about on issues surrounding portable media players and whether or not they qualify as a medium for the purposes of the Copyright Act. 

Specifically, CRIA President Graham Henderson has identified 7 objections to the Copyright's Board decision to allow the proposed tariff on Apple iPods.

• the Decision failed to consider the fundamental importance of exclusive rights in Canadian copyright law


• the Board failed to consider the implications of the combination of the Decision with statements in its prior decisions to the effect that the Private Copying regime legalizes copying for the private use of the person making the copy, regardless of whether the source is a non-infringing copy or subject to a levy.


• by broadening the scope of the exception to devices never intended by Parliament to be covered, the Board has potentially and inappropriately transformed the 'private copying' exception into a public license


• the Decision failed to adequately consider and apply policy principles related to copyright. Any decision or combination of decisions that exempts unauthorized P2P downloading from infringement would be contrary to the public interest because it serves as a disincentive to investment in the production of music and the dissemination of legitimate copies of music.


• the Decision failed to adequately consider and apply the specific policy principles behind the private copying exception.


• the Board was wrong to broaden the scope of the private copying exception to avoid making illegal file sharers liable for infringement.


• the Decision failed to consider Canada's international and bilateral treaty obligations related to copyright and related rights.

Henderson in no uncertain terms realizes that "...the Decision could potentially be interpreted to allow the copying of music files from any source - whether legitimate or illegitimate - onto any type of device ordinarily used by individuals to copy music, such as personal computers..." and I think he's right. Is it really stealing if you already paid for whatever effects it's supposed to have? I think not and I'm sure that Canadian courts would agree.

What's interesting to also note is that the CRIA has been reduced to little more than a front for foreign music interests. After the much publicized departure of virtually all canadian music labels last year following a dispute over radio content rules and grant programs for emerging artists, it became truly apparent to all that the "C" in the CRIA means anything but Canadian these days and should instead read "Cartel" to accurately describe its desire to control the supply and demand of all things music. At the very least it ought to drop the "C" and add an "A," for all it is is a foreign subsidiary of the RIAA.

"(CRIA is) looking out for their best interest, and their best interest is multinationals that are not Canadian," said Ric Arboit, president of Vancouver-based Nettwerk Records.

Now with its efforts to defeat the private copying levy proposed BY AND FOR CANADIAN MUSIC INTERESTS the real agenda of the CRIA is laid bare. The CRIA is little more than a thinly veiled front for foreign corporate interests with no real stake in canadian society or concern for the health of the country's own music industry and artists.

The real kicker is that this is the very group that succeeded in getting the BitTorrent tracker site Demonoid blocked to Canadian visitors. So not only is a group comprised primarily of foreign interests trying to defeat a proposal in the best interests of the canadian music industry, but it's also actively working to censor the internet there as well. We must be a superpower if even our record labels are able to have that much sway in other countries. Maybe the CRIA will soon spin tales of WMDs - "weapons of music's destruction" being found in Canada and demand preemptive action against evil P2P and file-sharing users.

We'll have to wait and see what the outcome of the case is, but knowing Canada's long history of being our sort of cousin that likes to do things his own way, and the fact that it has an egalitarian culture that always chooses people over profits, I'm confident that the CRIA's efforts will ultimately fail. This may actually be the first ever tax that I'd be happy to pay - that is if I was canadian of course. You all know how we Americans are big on that whole "no taxation without representation" thing.

Looking for more stuff to watch or download?

Guide for Canadians Wanting to Access Demonoid

Has Demonoid Been Shut Down by the CRIA?

New ISP & Cellphone Tax for Unlimited Music File-Sharing?

TVLinks Alternatives for Free TV Shows & Movies

BitTorrent torrent sites & search engines

uTorrent - A Beginner's guide to BitTorrent downloading

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