Tories want to wrap copyright law by Christmas
The federal government still believes it has struck the right balance between the needs of consumers and creators, with the reintroduction of the same copyright bill that died when the federal election was called last spring.
Industry Minister Christian Paradis and Heritage Minister James Moore expressed the urgency of the government's plans to reporters Thursday morning, after the tabling of the legislation in the House of Commons.
The heritage minister emphasized the growing importance of digital technologies to the Canadian economy. "This legislation will make it clear to everyday Canadians that technology is at their disposal and free to be used," Moore said, giving examples of format-shifting and time-shifting technologies that had become a grey area in the past.
"It also makes sure that piracy is illegal in Canada, and it also makes sure that creators have a right to protect their property with digital locks and digital protection measures," Moore added. "Canadians will not be penalized for transferring their favourite novel or album onto their mobile device," Paradis confirmed. "They now will be able to upload the content they have created, like mashups, to internet sites without facing punishment."
Michael Geist, a University of Ottawa law professor who specializes in internet law and has a strong interest in copyright, said the government's approach "sends a strong message that the government thinks they struck the right balance" between consumers and creators in the way it was introduced before.
However, he noted that there are groups that the government has yet to hear from and there has been widespread controversy over some parts of the bill. In particular, many groups are concerned about provisions dealing with digital locks or technical means of "copy protection." The reintroduced bill makes it illegal to break or circumvent digital locks for any reason, even to exercise other rights under the Copyright Act.
Geist and many other advocates believe it should be legal to circumvent digital locks for legal purposes.
Moore argues that creative groups support digital lock provisions to allow copyright owners to take people who steal content to court to pursue damages. "This is protecting the rights of creators," the heritage minister said Thursday. "If somebody hacks into a piece of software... and destroys a business model, that's a problem. That hurts investment in Canada, it hurts jobs, it hurts creativity, it hurts innovation. That's what we're trying to stop."
Moore called suggestions that the bill should not have digital lock provisions "ridiculous," and added that not protecting what people have invested in would be "irresponsible."
The NDP's copyright critic, Charlie Angus, supports modernizing copyright law. But he said the government knows there were things that needed to be changed from the former legislation. "The previous bill was a dog's breakfast, it was completely unworkable," Angus told reporters on Parliament Hill Thursday. "The bill has to be fixed before we will support it," he said, citing lost royalties for artists, digital lock provisions and issues around the provision of materials for distance education as major concerns.
"We haven't seen this government open to working with anybody yet, but we will go in with an open mind," Angus said. "The government is looking to try to find a balance but they haven't found it yet."
"Canadians will be deeply disappointed if the government rams through unbalanced, unCanadian legislation that strips them of their rights as users of copyright," said a statement issued by Liberal heritage critic Scott Simms Thursday. In the same statement, Liberal industry critic Geoff Regan said the reintroduction of exactly the same bill "makes a mockery of the consultations held last year" by ignoring the reasonable suggestions for improvement that were offered by witnesses.
Tories want to wrap copyright law by Christmas - Technology & Science - CBC News
The federal government still believes it has struck the right balance between the needs of consumers and creators, with the reintroduction of the same copyright bill that died when the federal election was called last spring.
Industry Minister Christian Paradis and Heritage Minister James Moore expressed the urgency of the government's plans to reporters Thursday morning, after the tabling of the legislation in the House of Commons.
The heritage minister emphasized the growing importance of digital technologies to the Canadian economy. "This legislation will make it clear to everyday Canadians that technology is at their disposal and free to be used," Moore said, giving examples of format-shifting and time-shifting technologies that had become a grey area in the past.
"It also makes sure that piracy is illegal in Canada, and it also makes sure that creators have a right to protect their property with digital locks and digital protection measures," Moore added. "Canadians will not be penalized for transferring their favourite novel or album onto their mobile device," Paradis confirmed. "They now will be able to upload the content they have created, like mashups, to internet sites without facing punishment."
Michael Geist, a University of Ottawa law professor who specializes in internet law and has a strong interest in copyright, said the government's approach "sends a strong message that the government thinks they struck the right balance" between consumers and creators in the way it was introduced before.
However, he noted that there are groups that the government has yet to hear from and there has been widespread controversy over some parts of the bill. In particular, many groups are concerned about provisions dealing with digital locks or technical means of "copy protection." The reintroduced bill makes it illegal to break or circumvent digital locks for any reason, even to exercise other rights under the Copyright Act.
Geist and many other advocates believe it should be legal to circumvent digital locks for legal purposes.
Moore argues that creative groups support digital lock provisions to allow copyright owners to take people who steal content to court to pursue damages. "This is protecting the rights of creators," the heritage minister said Thursday. "If somebody hacks into a piece of software... and destroys a business model, that's a problem. That hurts investment in Canada, it hurts jobs, it hurts creativity, it hurts innovation. That's what we're trying to stop."
Moore called suggestions that the bill should not have digital lock provisions "ridiculous," and added that not protecting what people have invested in would be "irresponsible."
The NDP's copyright critic, Charlie Angus, supports modernizing copyright law. But he said the government knows there were things that needed to be changed from the former legislation. "The previous bill was a dog's breakfast, it was completely unworkable," Angus told reporters on Parliament Hill Thursday. "The bill has to be fixed before we will support it," he said, citing lost royalties for artists, digital lock provisions and issues around the provision of materials for distance education as major concerns.
"We haven't seen this government open to working with anybody yet, but we will go in with an open mind," Angus said. "The government is looking to try to find a balance but they haven't found it yet."
"Canadians will be deeply disappointed if the government rams through unbalanced, unCanadian legislation that strips them of their rights as users of copyright," said a statement issued by Liberal heritage critic Scott Simms Thursday. In the same statement, Liberal industry critic Geoff Regan said the reintroduction of exactly the same bill "makes a mockery of the consultations held last year" by ignoring the reasonable suggestions for improvement that were offered by witnesses.
Tories want to wrap copyright law by Christmas - Technology & Science - CBC News
