Bill C-61 According to Ministers Prentice and Verner
Posted on June 12, 2008
Filed Under Politics |
I’ve been hearing about scary new copyright laws being proposed in Canada by Ministers Prentice and Verner. From what I’ve been hearing, the changes will result in draconian legislation that resembles the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) in the United States.
I was bothered enough by what I’d heard that I emailed my Member of Parliament, the Prime Minister’s Office, and Minister Prentice. To my surprise, my emails actually garnered some responses.
The PM’s office basically told me that the PM doesn’t handle these matters, and that they would forward the email to the appropriate people. The email to my MP was first replied to by his assistant, but I later got a reply from the man himself. It basically said thanks for writing, I’ll forward your concerns to Minister Prentice.
Today, I got an email from Ministers Prentice and Verner, providing a brief summary of the proposed legislation. This is what the Ministers said in their email:
The Government of Canada has introduced Bill C-61, An Act to Amend the Copyright Act. The proposed legislation is a made-in-Canada approach that balances the needs of Canadian consumers and copyright owners, promoting culture, innovation and competition in the digital age.
What does Bill C-61 mean to Canadians?
Specifically, it includes measures that would:
- expressly allow you to record TV shows for later viewing; copy legally purchased music onto other devices, such as MP3 players or cell phones; make back-up copies of legally purchased books, newspapers, videocassettes and photographs onto devices you own; and limit the “statutory damages” a court could award for all private use copyright infringements;
- implement new rights and protections for copyright holders, tailored to the Internet, to encourage participation in the online economy, as well as stronger legal remedies to address Internet piracy;
- clarify the roles and responsibilities of Internet Service Providers related to the copyright content flowing over their network facilities; and
- provide photographers with the same rights as other creators.
What Bill C-61 does not do:
- it would not empower border agents to seize your iPod or laptop at border crossings, contrary to recent public speculation
What this Bill is not:
- it is not a mirror image of U.S. copyright laws. Our Bill is made-in-Canada with different exceptions for educators, consumers and others and brings us into line with more than 60 countries including Japan, France, Germany and Australia
Bill C-61 was introduced in the Commons on June 12, 2008 by Industry Minister Jim Prentice and Heritage Minister Josée Verner.
For more information, please visit the Copyright Reform Process website at www.ic.gc.ca/epic/site/crp-prda.nsf/en/home
Thank you for sharing your views on this important matter.
The Honourable Jim Prentice, P.C., Q.C., M.P.
Minister of IndustryThe Honourable Josée Verner, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Canadian Heritage, Status of Women
and Official Languages and Minister for
La Francophonie
While I was pleased to get a response, reading that email doesn’t leave me much happier than I was before I read it, since it’s very vague and doesn’t actually explain much of anything. However, I was pleased to see that the Bill will not make it illegal for me to rip copies of CDs that I have legally paid for, so that I may transfer the songs to my mp3 player. I’m also glad to see that it will not grant border guards the power to seize & inspect portable devices at border crossings.
Beyond that, this email does little to convince me that this Bill is a good idea, and that it is as different from US laws as Minister Prentice would have us believe.
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5 Responses to “Bill C-61 According to Ministers Prentice and Verner”
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I think points two and three:
* implement new rights and protections for copyright holders, tailored to the Internet, to encourage participation in the online economy, as well as stronger legal remedies to address Internet piracy;
* clarify the roles and responsibilities of Internet Service Providers related to the copyright content flowing over their network facilities; and
Are where the dragons lie.
Absolutely, those are the two points that worry me the most, especially because the wording is so vague. At the very least, I hope the wording is a lot more specific in the actual Bill. Although, ideally, the Bill will get killed in the House.
It may allow you to rip your cd to your ipod, but don’t dare rip your DVD to your ipod.
And when CD’s are dead and all new methods of getting your music have some basic form of encryption, then you will no longer have any consumer rights.
The provisions allowing you to copy CD’s to you buy to other devices are rendered void by the bill itself.
http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/3025/125/
This blog explains why
Thanks for commenting, everyone.
@Richard: I kind of figured it was too good to be true, especially when I heard that getting around encryption locks is now illegal. This law does NOT help consumers and it doesn’t really help content creators, either. It helps big business in the form of content DISTRIBUTORS, pure and simple.
@Joe: If the Bill is self-contradictory, I assume that someone could challenge it and it could be deemed unlawful by the courts, yes?