Copyright bill expected to target downloading

Jun 11, 2008 07:37 PM
THE CANADIAN PRESS

OTTAWA–The federal government is expected to introduce legislation Thursday that will seek to make it easier to prosecute individuals who download copyrighted material from the Internet.

Industry Minister Jim Prentice said in an a release from his office late Wednesday that he will table amendments to the Copyright Law in the House of Commons on Thursday morning.

The bill, which will amend the existing Copyright Act, was first put on the House of Commons order paper in December, but then was held in limbo for the next six months as speculation built about what it contained.

The long-awaited changes are a hot political potato for Prentice, who must find a middle ground between business interests who want strict protection for intellectual property, including recordings and films, and Internet users accustomed to downloading material free.

There's speculation is that Prentice will try to come down the middle as much as possible, imposing a $500 fine on individuals caught downloading copyrighted files.

The current copyright law, which was intended to catch commercial cheaters, carries a maximum fine of $20,000 for infringements.

If such a fine were to be included in the amendments, it would likely leave both sides unhappy – industry groups that the fine is small, consumers that the fine applies to each file download.

The current copyright law, which was intended to catch commercial cheaters, carries a maximum fine of $20,000 for infringements.

University of Ottawa professor Michael Geist, who teaches technology law, said he is concerned the amendments will mirror too closely the restrictive legislation in the United States.

"I expect Minister Prentice to characterize the law as a Made in Canada solution, yet the reality will be that the key provisions are born in the USA," he said.

"In doing so, the new law will have serious negative effects for Canadian consumers who could be locked out of their own purchased content, as well as for privacy, education, and research."

Geist said he expects some provisions aimed at pleasing consumer interests such as the legalizing of recording time-shifted television shows, but that most of the new rules will be contrary to consumer interests.

"Striking an appropriate balance in respect to copyright as between consumers and industry is an important part of the equation," Prentice has said recently.

Exactly where that balance will end up could affect everything from how Canadians use their televisions to whether authorities will be able to snoop on what people download through their Internet connection.

The video game industry wants the law strengthened to allow Internet service providers to monitor high-speed downloads and shut down transfers containing unauthorized copies of games and other files.

The government has also been lobbied by American industry groups to follow the U.S. government's lead and restrict people from making backup copies of compact discs and DVD's which they have purchased legally.

Canada's current copyright law was drawn up long before personal computers and iPods were in every home. As a result of outdated wording and a few court cases, the existing law is a confusing stew of rules that most people are not aware of.

The music industry says Canadians continue to make unauthorized music downloads because the law does not clearly make it illegal. The industry lost a court battle in 2005 when it tried to force Internet service providers to provide the names of downloaders.

Other everyday acts, such as recording a TV show or taking music from a compact disc and putting it on an MP3 player are illegal but are never enforced, says Geist.

source: http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/441634

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Last edited by chinamon on Jun-12-2008 at 00:36