How the Copyright Modernization Act will affect Canadians
Dear Editor:
My name is Devon Reese and I am going to discuss what is on every Canadian's mind: the C-11 Bill to amend the Copyright Modernization Act.
This bill's main purpose is to enforce the concept of Digital Locks, which can be stamped on products consumers buy. If the lock is broken, the infringer is subject to criminal charges. In other words, if a product has a digital lock, the consumer cannot, for example, send a song from a hard copy CD that was purchased to a multimedia device such as an iPod, rendering it illegal.
The bill is currently in the process of the Second Reading in the House of Commons, or the debate whether to pass the bill or reject it. The NDP — specifically in British Columbia, who debated on October 18 — believe if the bill should be passed, it must be strongly modified to justify both the corporation and their consumers. The NDP, like every other federal party, wants a balance between both the consumer and the corporation in the market and service industry.
Initially when the bill was first issued to the House of Commons, Heritage Minister James Moore mentioned that bill is to adjust Canadian Copyright Laws so they "are flexible, modern and in line with current international standards."
The problem is the bill is being structured based on America's Copyright Laws, which have failed to point out that offenders of copyright who pirate on the web have methods to back-door these laws in the country. This will lead to acting like America's standards of copyright in the grounds that it would benefit corporations and hinder consumers should the bill be passed.
Furthermore, Canada's current copyright laws allow consumers who have legitimately purchased a product, be it a video game or song, to create a backup or copy it to a multimedia device, but if C-11 CMA is passed, this process would be considered illegal. Therefore the bill does help corporations; however, they, like the creators of the product in the business, make enough money as it is: an average revenue between $1 to 2 billion a year. Their consumer line is being affected since a major part of our technological society is to use various media or methods to ensure we have use of the product we purchased. Tacking on a bill that forbids this process to either back-up what we purchased online or copy a file from one medium to another would disrupt the way we work in everyday life, business or personal.
In a nutshell, if the bill is passed with no modifications, corporations would get what they want: money and more of it, and we, the consumers, would lose more money. So to all the people here in London: talk with the MP in your riding and say NO to this bill before it gets passed to the next level of debate in the House of Commons!
Sources:
tinyurl.com/bsookmanCMA
tinyurl.com/cdngovCMA
Legislation/House of Commons Channel (Rogers Cable Channel 97)
Devon Reese
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
My name is Devon Reese and I am going to discuss what is on every Canadian's mind: the C-11 Bill to amend the Copyright Modernization Act.
This bill's main purpose is to enforce the concept of Digital Locks, which can be stamped on products consumers buy. If the lock is broken, the infringer is subject to criminal charges. In other words, if a product has a digital lock, the consumer cannot, for example, send a song from a hard copy CD that was purchased to a multimedia device such as an iPod, rendering it illegal.
The bill is currently in the process of the Second Reading in the House of Commons, or the debate whether to pass the bill or reject it. The NDP — specifically in British Columbia, who debated on October 18 — believe if the bill should be passed, it must be strongly modified to justify both the corporation and their consumers. The NDP, like every other federal party, wants a balance between both the consumer and the corporation in the market and service industry.
Initially when the bill was first issued to the House of Commons, Heritage Minister James Moore mentioned that bill is to adjust Canadian Copyright Laws so they "are flexible, modern and in line with current international standards."
The problem is the bill is being structured based on America's Copyright Laws, which have failed to point out that offenders of copyright who pirate on the web have methods to back-door these laws in the country. This will lead to acting like America's standards of copyright in the grounds that it would benefit corporations and hinder consumers should the bill be passed.
Furthermore, Canada's current copyright laws allow consumers who have legitimately purchased a product, be it a video game or song, to create a backup or copy it to a multimedia device, but if C-11 CMA is passed, this process would be considered illegal. Therefore the bill does help corporations; however, they, like the creators of the product in the business, make enough money as it is: an average revenue between $1 to 2 billion a year. Their consumer line is being affected since a major part of our technological society is to use various media or methods to ensure we have use of the product we purchased. Tacking on a bill that forbids this process to either back-up what we purchased online or copy a file from one medium to another would disrupt the way we work in everyday life, business or personal.
In a nutshell, if the bill is passed with no modifications, corporations would get what they want: money and more of it, and we, the consumers, would lose more money. So to all the people here in London: talk with the MP in your riding and say NO to this bill before it gets passed to the next level of debate in the House of Commons!
Sources:
tinyurl.com/bsookmanCMA
tinyurl.com/cdngovCMA
Legislation/House of Commons Channel (Rogers Cable Channel 97)
Devon Reese
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
