Canada To Introduce Copyright Law Next Week

[Bob Hubbard]

[font=arial,helvetica]Canada To Introduce Copyright Law Next Week[/font]Thursday June 09, @01:42AM
from the turnaround dept.
P Starrson writes "A leading Canadian television network is reporting that the Canadian government will introduce copyright legislation next week that will bring DMCA-like provisions north of the border. Amazingly, the Canadian recording industry, which previously praised the reforms, now says they aren't good enough. Canadian law prof Michael Geist cuts through the spin in the pair of blog postings titled Fact and Fiction and CRIA's New Take on Copyright Reform."

( Read More...Slashdot.org

 

[ginshun]

So does this mean that it will be illegal to download music in Canada the same way (or pretty much) it is in the US?

 

[TonyM.]

Questions.
Why do publishing companies feel they deserve more royalties than writers and artists?
Why does ASCAP, BMI and CAPCAP feel people go to stores and restaurants to listen to the radio and charge these establishments royalties for playing music that the broadcaster is already paying royalties on?
Why do some consumers think they deserve to own the product of someone elses labor for free?
As a songwriter and musician, all of the above disgusts me.

 

[Andrew Green]

And why is it illegal for me to use something I purchased legally as I see fit?

Why isn't it illegal for a company from restricting how I can use there product?

Imagine buying a desk and being told that it was illegal to refinish it, move it to a different house, resell it, or make any modifications whatsoever to it. Or a book... its illegal to resell, give it away, highlight passages, write in the margins, etc.

DRM technology is what should be illegal...

 

[FearlessFreep]

And why is it illegal for me to use something I purchased legally as I see fit?

Why isn't it illegal for a company from restricting how I can use there product?

Because technically you are buying the media, not the distribution rights to the content.

It's more obvious with software than with music because if ou read the EULA carefully you realize that you are not buying the software, you are only buying the right to use the software under certain conditions. Music is very similar.

 

[Andrew Green]

I think you'll find I don't think to highly of most EULA's either

But legally I DO have the right to make copy's for personal / back up use. And with software or cd's I can resell them.

 

[FearlessFreep]

I think you'll find I don't think to highly of most EULA's either

Well, I wasn't trying to make a moral stand, just point out a fine point on what you are really 'buying'

But legally I DO have the right to make copy's for personal / back up use.

Yup

And with software or cd's I can resell them.

Not as far as I know. Similar to books. You can give away or sell your book, you cann't go down to Kinko's and copy a whole book and sell it.

But as both a musician and a software developer, my own take is simply to honor the creator's wishes. Some musicians put their music up to download, some software developers release their code as freeware, or open source. Some do not. I try to honor that as I'm in the same position

 

[ginshun]

And why is it illegal for me to use something I purchased legally as I see fit?

Why isn't it illegal for a company from restricting how I can use there product?

Imagine buying a desk and being told that it was illegal to refinish it, move it to a different house, resell it, or make any modifications whatsoever to it. Or a book... its illegal to resell, give it away, highlight passages, write in the margins, etc.

DRM technology is what should be illegal...

Maybe if I buy a hundred dollar bill I should just be able to make as many copies of it as I want? After all, I bought it, its mine.

 

[arnisador]

And why is it illegal for me to use something I purchased legally as I see fit?

There's an issue of what exactly you have purchased, as others have pointed out.

We all benefit if musuicians/programmers/authors/etc. feel they'll be rewarded for their efforts. We lose when someone doesn't bother to develop a drug because he knows that some govt. will let people make it and sell it cheaply after he's done the hard work of developing it.

 

[Andrew Green]

Not as far as I know. Similar to books. You can give away or sell your book, you cann't go down to Kinko's and copy a whole book and sell it.

Of course not, but I can sell the original, providing I don't keep a copy.

 

[FearlessFreep]

Of course not, but I can sell the original, providing I don't keep a copy.

Correct.

 

[Andrew Green]

Maybe if I buy a hundred dollar bill I should just be able to make as many copies of it as I want? After all, I bought it, its mine.

What are you going to do with them? If you try to pass them off as currency that is illegal. Plus money is rather different then media. Your not supposed to destroy money, even if you own it. No one cares if you use books for a fuel source...

 

[ginshun]

What are you going to do with them? If you try to pass them off as currency that is illegal. Plus money is rather different then media. Your not supposed to destroy money, even if you own it. No one cares if you use books for a fuel source...

Fine then, books instead. I have probably a hundred+ books at home. Is it your opinion that if I want to I should be able to scan all those books into PDF files and post them on the internet for anyone who wants them to get for free?

 

[Cryozombie]

Ok...

So why is it legal for me to record Metalica off the radio and burn it to cd,

But not to Download the same song from the net?

Exact same results, *I* got somthing from Metalica Without Paying for it.


Why can I buy a copy of Briney Spears latest cd, rip it to mp3 for myt mp3 player, and its cool,

but if i buy the cd AND download it because on the T3 line here thats faster than ripping it im a criminal?

Yeah, these laws make sense.

 

[Andrew Green]

*sigh*

I am not in any way saying you should be able to redistribute as many copies as you like.

You should be able to scan it to pdf, as long as it is for your own use ONLY. Same as if you purchase in PDF, you should be able to print it for your own use.

You should also be able to modify it for your own use (write in margins, highlight passages, etc.)

You should also be allowed to give them away, resell it (to a used bookstore, at a garage sale, etc.)

You should also have these rights if you purchase the media in a digital form. Providing you follow the copyright rules and don't keep a copy. When you transfer ownership to someone else it is then theres, you don't have any rights to it anymore.

DRM's prevent you from being able to do these things, which are NOT illegal to do.



Over to music. If you buy a cd, you can copy it to cassette, rip it to your computer, transfer it to an mp3 player. That is all legal. If you purchase it in electronic format you should be able to do the same thing, transfer it to another format for your own use. If I buy a song from iTunes, I should be able to play it on my non-apple made mp3 player, providing I convert it to a format that is compatible with that player. These laws prevent me from doing that.

 

[FearlessFreep]

Technopunk,

Technically, downloading is not illegal. The illegal part is in the sharing/uploading part.

Back to Andrew and ginshu's example, if someone gives you a pdf copy of a book, you are ok, but the person who copied it or distribution is the one breaking copyright. However, you are in the tenous situation of providing a market for his illegal action

 

[ed-swckf]

Ok...

So why is it legal for me to record Metalica off the radio and burn it to cd,

But not to Download the same song from the net?

Exact same results, *I* got somthing from Metalica Without Paying for it.

Because the reason the law generally allows you to do that is because they are simply recognising that the broadcast may not be at a suitable time for some and allow what is know as a timeshift. One is legally broadcast the other (the metalica track on the net) actually isn't. However digital radio and internet radio is slightly different again.

Why can I buy a copy of Briney Spears latest cd, rip it to mp3 for myt mp3 player, and its cool,

but if i buy the cd AND download it because on the T3 line here thats faster than ripping it im a criminal?

Yeah, these laws make sense.

Thats a very grey area and it depends on the copyright of the media you purchased, while the law isn't so clear can you point to anyone who has been prosecuted for downloading something they already own. I don't think anyone who did that would face prosecution because a) the law is non specific, at least here it is and b) its not morally wrong.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

You have a right to make a backup copy of your audio recordings for your own use. If you transfer ownership of the original (sell, giveaway, trade, etc) you must either include or destroy the backups.

This same right also applies to software, and video. In fact, the act of 'loading' the software (ie copying it from cd to pc) was considered a violation at one time, until it was clarified.

I find the idea that making an archival copy is considered criminal to be rather insulting.

Some will argue "Well, I can't copy my car" as a valid comparison. True. But you also can't insure your DVD of Platoon incase your player melts down.

I believe the RIAA and MPAA already get enough 'perks'. Every time I backup my harddrive to DVD, they get a cut. Why? Because there are fees on -every- blank cd/dvd sold to "compensate" them for piracy. I burn a copy of a website for a client, and the RIAA makes money. Crazy.

I'll admit it. I've downloaded music and a few videos. Ya know what? When I was, I was also -buying- it by the ton. It was nothing for me to drop $100-200 a week on dvds or cds. Now, I can't check it out, so, I wait til I see it in the bargin bins, or used...neither of which really puts any cash in their pockets.

It's not the average "collector" who's the problem. Its that guy at the local flea market, selling em that is. Go after the distro points, or better yet.

Put out stuff we want to buy. Not the crap they have been. I don't need another "boy-band-of-the-day" cd. I want a new -must-have- cd from a giant.

 

[Cryozombie]

Put out stuff we want to buy. Not the crap they have been. I don't need another "boy-band-of-the-day" cd. I want a new -must-have- cd from a giant.

and instead of raping me for 18.99 for a cd that they press for approx 8.36 cents a copy, (note... that is CENTS, not 8 dollars) including jewel case, inserts and distro... sell the music at a reasonable rate, and make the CD worthwhile and ibet a large amount of piracy goes away.

Back when i could buy a single with the "GOOD" track on a cd, i didnt feel the need to DL music, now that they cram 16 POS songs on a disk with one good trak and gouge you for tha tsong because they realized people werent buying the full cds. In essence they took away what the people wanted... and now they are crying over the results of their plan to part us from our hard earned money.

\

 

[Tgace]

and instead of raping me for 18.99 for a cd that they press for approx 8.36 cents a copy, (note... that is CENTS, not 8 dollars) including jewel case, inserts and distro... sell the music at a reasonable rate, and make the CD worthwhile and ibet a large amount of piracy goes away.

Back when i could buy a single with the "GOOD" track on a cd, i didnt feel the need to DL music, now that they cram 16 POS songs on a disk with one good trak and gouge you for tha tsong because they realized people werent buying the full cds. In essence they took away what the people wanted... and now they are crying over the results of their plan to part us from our hard earned money.

\

AMEN..