[kwlug-disc] Yesterday in C-32 news

[Paul Nijjar]

Our favourite Canadian bill started debate for its 2nd reading
yesterday: 

http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Sites/LOP/LEGISINFO/index.asp?Language=E&Chamber=N&StartList=A&EndList=Z&Session=23&Type=0&Scope=I&query=7026&List=stat

Transcript is here: 
http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Pub=Hansard&Doc=92&Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=40&Ses=3#SOB-3453750

Minister Moore says: "Copyright holders told us that their
21st-century business model depends on strong technological protection
measures. And we listened: Bill C-32 contains protection measures such
as digital locks to protect against piracy and to allow creators to
choose how they wish to protect their works."

Then he says: "Other people have come forward as well to support
this legislation. We get the sense that support for this legislation
is broad based and substantive, if we look at the folks who are
supporting this bill: the television and film industry, the music
industry, digital new media folks, the business community and
individual artists."

Meanwhile, Liberal critic Marc Garneau says: "Unfortunately, when it
comes to copyright, Canada has, for too long now, been way behind in
terms of global best practices. Our outdated copyright legislation has
been the subject of international criticism."

He then pulls out the study that says that Canada is on a blacklist
for file-sharing, comparable to Algeria, Venezuela, etc. 

but later he says: 

"Specifically as it applies to music, video and other digital media,
the Liberal Party believes the Copyright Act must allow Canadians who
have legitimately purchased a CD, DVD or other product the ability to
transfer their purchase onto other personal devices, such as an iPod,
or make a personal backup copy on their computers so long as they are
not doing so for the purposes of sale or transfer to others."

I don't think we can expect help from the Liberals. They will let this
pass. 

The Bloc wants to increase penalties for infringement. They are
opposing the bill on the basis of artist rights. They also support
taking levies from ISPs to support artists. 

The NDP comes closest to opposing the digital locks provisions.
Charlie Angus says: "In article 10 of the WIPO Copyright Treaty, it
says that limitations such as the TPMs may be supported as long as
they ?do not conflict with a normal exploitation of the work?. That is
exactly what the bill would do. It would override the normal
exploitations of this work."

Bill Siksay says: "Under Bill C-32, it would be illegal to break a
digital lock, even if that lock prevented one from accessing material
that one would otherwise be legally entitled to access. In fact, it
treats the breaking of digital locks for personal use the same as if
the lock were being broken for commercial counterfeiting."

Despite this, the NDP is in favour of digital locks overall. 
It looks like every party in the House supports digital locks, in
fact. 

The main issues are the YouTube exception (the opposition wants it
gone), the exemptions for students (the opposition wants these
eliminated, except for the NDP), and format shifting when there are
digital locks. Open source is nowhere on the agenda. 

Goodbye, legal open source multimedia. 
Goodbye, legal open source iPod interoperability. 

Thanks, big media! Thanks, Internet pirates!


- Paul

-- 
http://pnijjar.freeshell.org