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Copyright bill makes it easier to target illegal file sharing & unlocking cellphone
Copyright bill makes it easier to target illegal file sharing & unlocking cellphone
(before the contract ends)
Minister of Industry Tony Clement speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa May 31, 2010. Photographed by:
Blair Gable , ReutersMONTREAL — It will be easier for recording companies and film studios to go after those who share files illegally, if a new copyright law introduced Wednesday in the House of Commons is passed.
The new law would require Internet service providers to notify their users if they receive a notice that a copyright has been infringed. The ISPs would then be required to hold on to the personal information of the infringing member, and to turn it over to officials if a court orders them to do so.
Under the current law, ISPs only notify copyright infringers on a voluntary basis.
That is one of many sweeping changes introduced to the outdated law — last updated in 1997.
Among other changes, the law legitimizes activities that most Canadians already do, such as transferring music from a legally purchased CD to an MP3 player, or recording a television show, which goes against current copyright rules, universally seen as outdated.
The legislation, however, makes it illegal to circumvent digital locks, even for personal or educational purposes. This means that someone who backs up a DVD movie has likely committed an infringement, since most DVDs already contain digital locks. This also means altering a DVD bought in Europe, or one of five other regions, to enable it to be played on a North American DVD would also constitute a copyright infringement — a practice that is currently legal.
There is an exemption to the digital lock rule — someone who purchases a cellular phone may unlock it in order to switch service providers (from Rogers to Bell, for example) — assuming the user's contract with the cellular phone company has ended.
As well, the new bill also relaxes many of the copyright rules for educational purposes, as part of what's called a fair dealing clause. That allows people to make use of copyrighted works without requiring permission in certain circumstances. For example, it will allow teachers to use copyrighted materials as part of a lesson.
Penalties for consumers sharing files will also be eased.
The new law will distinguish between those who share files for commercial purposes, versus those who do it for personal purposes. Fines for personal file sharing are reduced, under the proposed law, while commercial copyright infringement fines remain the same.
This is the second time the Conservative government has introduced changes to the copyright law.
Bill C-61, introduced in 2008, died on the order paper when the government called an election.
The Conservative government said the new law strikes a balanced approach between consumers and copyright holders, but Michael Geist, a copyright expert at the University of Ottawa called it "regressive."
"Especially around the issue of digital locks," Geist said. "This was the No. 1 criticism of the bill two years ago."
Geist said under the proposed law, people would be able share books for educational purposes, but would not digital books, if they are protected by a digital lock.
jmagderthegazette.canwest.com
http://www.canada.com/mobile/iphone/news/national-news/Bill+makes+easier+target+illegal+file+sharing/3101769/story.html
Canada’s proposed Copyright Act amendments will make it illegal to break DRM
After weeks of leaks and speculation, Canada’s reigning Conservative government outlined its plans to amend the ageing Copyright Act. According to the outline, anyone convicted of bypassing the DRM of a given media format — even if legally purchased — will be subject to a fine of up to $5,000. But if the circumvention of DRM is done for profit, then the fine is raised to $1 million. Convicted downloaders of copyrighted materials will face significantly weaker penalties with a fine of $5,000, down from the present day maximum of $20,000. Canadians will also be allowed to use copyrighted materials to create mashup videos for sites such as YouTube, and the law books will finally acknowledge that commonplace activities such as recording TV, radio and internet broadcasts are okay. The same applies for backing media for personal use or archival purposes, but so long as DRM is not tampered with. Cellphone unlocking was not mentioned, although Heritage Minister Tony Clement said that it is currently legal to unlock phones so long as that phone is not currently under contract from a carrier. In an editorial co-autored with Heritage Minister James Moore published in The National Post on Wednesday, Clement argued that “Canada’s Copyright Act is more than 80 years old and has not been significantly modified for many years” and needs a serious overhaul in order to protect the interests of Canadians and the rights of content creators. The legislation is expected to be tabled in the House of Commons on Thursday.
http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2010/06/02/canadas-proposed-copyright-act-amendments-will-make-it-illegal-to-break-drm/
Last edited by E2EK1EL on Jun-03-2010 at 01:01
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