Response to Bill C-61 Letter
Thursday, July 3rd, 2008
I received a response to my email about bill C-61. I am posting the response and my response to it.
July 3, 2008
Joel Tone
Box 673
St. Pierre, MB R0A 1V0
Dear Joel Tone:
The Government recently introduced a bill to amend the Copyright Act to bring it in line with advances in technology and current international standards.
This reform is much needed and long overdue. It has been ten years since the last major reform of this important legislation. In that time, we have seen nothing short of an Internet revolution and major advancements in technology.
This is a balanced, made-in-Canada approach to copyright reform that will help ensure fair access by Canadian consumers to copyright material and protection of the rights of Canadians who create material that is copyrighted.
Our Government is the first to specifically allow Canadians to record their TV and radio shows to enjoy at different times—without infringing copyright. Our reform will also permit consumers to copy music onto devices such as MP3 players, and copy books, newspapers, videos and photos into different formats. Last but certainly not least, our bill limits at $500 the amount of statutory damages that individuals may be liable to pay if they infringed copyright for private use, provided the material is not protected by a digital lock. (Currently, statutory damages could be as high as $20,000 for a single infringement).
With this bill, we have introduced important measures to support industries whose success depends on copyright such as software companies, musicians, photographers, and film makers. We are providing stronger protection of digital locks online so that companies that choose to use them in their business models will have the support of the law. We have also introduced stronger provisions to address Internet piracy.
We believe this copyright reform promotes innovation and competition in a digital, knowledge-based economy.
Our role as Government is to set the stage for business to succeed and the economy to flourish. In short, to create the right environment for Canada to prosper by setting the right policies and this copyright bill accomplishes this.
The proposed amendments would implement:
* New exceptions for Canadian consumers, so they can record TV shows for later viewing; copy legally acquired music onto other devices, such as MP3 players or cellphones; and make backup copies of legally acquired books, newspapers, videocassettes and photographs onto devices they own;
* New rights and protections for copyright owners, tailored to the Internet, to encourage participation in the online economy, as well as stronger legal means to address Internet piracy;
* Exceptions for some educational and research purposes to promote innovation and enrich the educational experience;
* Clarity for Internet service providers on their roles and responsibilities in relation to copyright, in order to support the growth of Internet services in Canada; and
* Rights for photographers equal to those of other creators.
For more information, please visit the Copyright Reform Process website at www.ic.gc.ca/epic/site/crp-prda.nsf/en/home.
Please note, the House of Commons is now adjourned and will resume September 15, 2008. You may read the bill in it’s entirety at: http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HouseBills/BillsGovernment.aspx?Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=39&Ses=2
Once the House of Commons resumes, you can follow the bill’s status through this link as well.
I hope you find this information helpful.
Sincerely,
Jeremy Davis
Constituency Assistant
Office of Vic Toews, M.P.
Riding of Provencher
204-326-9889
ToewsV1B@parl.gc.ca
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Dear Minister Toews:
I appreciate your response. However there are several statements in
your assistant’s reply that are incomplete or incorrect.
Bill C-61 as it stands does not bring the Copyright Act into line with
advances in technology and current international standards. Instead
it seeks to prevent advances in technology. Canada already has more
onerous copyright laws than most of the G-8 countries (including the
United States), let alone the rest of the world.
Reform to the Copyright Act may be much needed and long overdue. If
you seek to invoke the Internet revolution and major advancements in
technology as a reason for Copyright reform, then the public, creators
of copyrighted materials, and industry should be consulted. From what
I can find, the last public consultation on copyright was in 2001.
Why not speak to the people who are to be affected by these new laws?
This is not a balanced, made-in-Canada approach to copyright reform.
Canadians artists, broadcasters, reporters, musicians, and the general
public are speaking out against this bill. Where are the Canadians
who stand behind it? This bill was drafted behind closed doors -
where is the open government we were promised? Why were creators,
public, and industry not consulted?
It’s true that some time and format shifting provisions are in the
Bill. However this has been done in a way that makes these provisions
meaningless. Format shifting is limited to such things as
videocassettes and other analog media. Under the bill as it stands if
I break the copy protection on a DVD I own to copy it to my computer,
I am a criminal. If I record an episode of a TV show and watch it
several times over the next year, I could be subject to fines. What
use are provisions that do not cover the digital media that Canadians
are using today?
The fine print that you listed in limiting damages to $500 is
disturbing. “..our bill limits at $500 the amount of statutory
damages that individuals may be liable to pay if they infringed
copyright for private use, provided the material is not protected by a
digital lock.” There is a lot of material protected by a digital lock.
Circumventing these locks is trivial and can be done by accident. If
I record a video of my 5 year old dancing to a a track I bought off of
iTunes, I have broken the digital lock on the iTunes track. Under
Bill C-61 the least I can expect is a $20,000 fine for making this
home movie. If I then upload that video to Youtube for his
grandparents and relatives to watch, I have added public distribution
to my list of offenses. Why are these actions to be criminalized?
You say you are supporting industries whose success depends on
copyright. However, the Canadian Newspaper Association, Canadian
Library Association, Canadian Music Creators Coalition, Documentary
Organization of Canada, Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest
Clinic, and other organizations whose success depends on copyright are
speaking out against the bill. Who are you supporting?
This copyright reform discourages innovation and competition. Instead
it supports established (American) business models that are based on
an analog, scarcity-based economy.
Your role is not to prop up failing business models but to encourage
business to succeed and the economy to flourish. This copyright bill
is bad policy and acts against Canadian interests.
