Okay so I sent in a letter to Jim Prentice who is the current Minister of Industry. Now a few months later he has sent me this reply in an email which has a few interesting remarks that I will highlight after the email:
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.
- it would not empower border agents to seize your iPod or laptop at border crossings, contrary to recent public speculation
- 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
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 Industry
The Honourable Josée Verner, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Canadian Heritage, Status of Women
and Official Languages and Minister for
La Francophonie
Yeah so I have a few things that are a problem. I can understand the prospect of purchasing copyrighted material, and I totally understand. But what I have a problem with is the amount of control that goes into the material that I purchase. Why can I not buy a DVD and put it on my computer or iPod for later viewing use? I payed friggin' 30 bucks to watch the movie and I want to watch it on my iPod! Studios may argue that we can download it off of iTunes but I can't get Ratatouille of there. What else am I supposed to do? And what about music that is not available? And the same goes for TV Shows. The Canadian iTunes store is absolutely broken because it does not have the same content as the American store. We can't get Hulu or ABC.com up here (maybe that will change with this law?).
What about the limits to the amount a company can sue a individual? I heard that it's like up to $20 000 for uploading something to a P2P network or even YOUTUBE!!! For Pete's sakes! YouTube!?!?! I can get fined $20 000 for uploading a cool clip from "The Office" to YouTube? Thats frickin' retarted! I'm used to just getting the videos pulled. This could also mean that if I have music in a movie that I make, they could put the pressure down on me. Not cool at all. Seriously, how much damage am I causing by putting a sample clip that would ultimately cause people to want and see new
He also commented about the recent story about how border agents will be able to rummage through our technology devices to find copyright infringing material. He says that they can't seize the items, but he never said that you couldn't look through them and then fine me. He needs more clarification.
So yeah, Digg this story if you like!
