The Copyright reform bill as pushed forth by the minister of industry has become an even tougher sell now. It likely explains an additional delay, further putting the reform bill into danger of never seeing the light of day.
The current Canadian government may have thrown down the gauntlet for opposition parties to keep the current government alive at this point in time, but it’s Canadian voices that are throwing down the gauntlet for the government to introduce a DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act – a set of controversial US copyright laws) style copyright reform bill. Shortly after a foreign body known as the Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) issued their “special 301 report” which puts Canada in a list of over a dozen countries on their “priority watchlist” (their watchlists contain 51 countries in total), the Canadian business industry introduced a report of their own (PDF – hosting via Michael Geistcalling for many things including an expansion on “Fair Dealings” (Canadian version of “Fair Use”) and consumer protection from things like Digital rights Management (DRM)
The recent move in the copyright debate may have been the cause of rumors that the copyright reform bill may be further delayed by at least a month.
A new coalition has been formed to oppose possible copyright laws that have many consumer interest groups and consumers fighting hard for consumer protections such as an expansion on “fair dealings”. The coalition consists of businesses that have a part in Canada. The coalition consists of the following: Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB), Canadian Association of Internet Providers, a division of CATAlliance (CAIP), Canadian Cable Systems Alliance (CCSA), Canadian Wireless and Telecommunications Association (CWTA), Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA)
Retail Council of Canada (RCC), Google, Third Brigade, Tucows, Yahoo! Canada, Cogeco Cable, EastLink, MTS Allstream, Rogers Communications Inc., SaskTel, and Telus.
Google recently posted on their blog about the recent move by businesses in Canada. Jacob Glick of the Google Canadian Policy Counsel wrote the following:
Google has joined with a number of other Canadian and international companies who have a shared vision of balanced copyright. The Business Coalition for Balanced Copyright has issued a two-page position paper calling for a “balanced ‘package’ approach for a strong Canadian copyright regime.” Admittedly not the snappiest title, but even so the document includes an important list of issues that the Canadian government ought to consider as integral to copyright reform.
The Business Coalition for Balanced Copyright is demanding the following among other things (details included in the paper):
- Expanded “fair dealing” for users
- Rules against circumvention that does not interfere with consumers non-infringing activities
- Making available rights that won’t stifle innovation
- No liability for Internet service providers (ISPs)
- Penalties to fit the behaviour
It was just two days ago that the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) said that they reject a Canadian DMCA which was just days after the Minister of Canadian Industry chose to mirror interests of major foreign record labels interest during a speech on climate change.
On the heals of the latest move, Canadian Internet Law Professor Michael Geist is reporting that the bill may be delayed for at least a month provided the government survives key issues that will occur in the upcoming weeks. As reported on ZeroPaid earlier, survival might be rather difficult – thus rendering the bill unlikely to be tabled already, let alone with this added delay.
Related Posts
- Canadian Broadcaster Accused of Censoring Copyright Debate
- Canadian MP – Debate WIPO Before Copyright Ratification
- CRIA re-thinks copyright reform
- Canadian Copyright Bill Unlikely In This Government?
- ACTRA Member Dismayed Over ACTRA Stance on Copyright Reform
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