p2pnet news | Politics:- Canadian copyright legislation is on the horizon. So will the Stephen Harper government continue to kowtow to Hollywood and the organised music cartel by introducing heavily restrictive, DMCA-style laws?

Canadians should watch out for a “carefully orchestrated pageant by the trade lobbyists,” says NDP spokesman on digital issues, Charlie Angus, because the DMCA lobby, “will be working closely with the government to create a false impression that there’s an international crisis of confidence in Canada’s copyright regime”.

They’ll attempt to paint copyright as a black and white battle against pirates, thieves and criminals, he says, going on that in the process, they’ll, “tar the efforts of educators, consumer groups and artist’s organization who recognize that the DMCA is the wrong model for Canada”.

According to Time Warner, Viacom, Fox, Sony, NBC Universal and Disney [read Hollywood] and Vivendi Universal, EMI, Warner Music and Sony BMG [read organised music], Canada is a den of thieves, a pirate haven, “for failing to ratify the WIPO agreement”.

Reminds Michael Geist >>>

As Industry Minister Jim Prentice prepared to introduce copyright legislation earlier this year, the Conservatives unveiled a new policy that committed to a 21 day House of Commons review period of any treaty prior to the introduction of any ratifying legislation.

I argued that this would seemingly apply to the WIPO Internet treaties and that the government was committed to conducting a review before tabling copyright legislation.

The Conservatives have still not tabled the WIPO Internet treaties, yet it has just completed the first treaty review process. To their credit, it went precisely as promised:

1. On February 14, 2008, Minister of International Trade David Emerson tabled the trade agreement between Canada and the European Free Trade Association in the House of Commons.

2. On April 10, 2008, the Standing Committee on International Trade presented its report on the treaty, noting that “this is the first agreement to be tabled in the House of Commons under the federal government’s new policy of allowing members of Parliament the opportunity to review and debate international treaties in the House of Commons for 21 days.”

3. Today, May 5, 2008, Emerson tabled Bill C-55, the implementing legislation for the treaty. A press release on the treaty again notes that “the Canada-EFTA Free Trade Agreement was the first treaty to be tabled in the House of Commons for 21 sitting days, in accordance with the new policy for tabling treaties before their ratification.”

And, says Geist, note the order —- table the treaty, wait at least 21 sitting days, then introduce the implementing legislation.

“The government is sticking by its policy and must surely do so for copyright as well,” he says, and that means the House of Commons should get at least 21 sitting days to review the WIPO Internet treaties, “before the government introduces its copyright reform bill designed to implement the treaties”.

Balance the rights of artists

Angus points out many of Canada’s competitors are in the same position and Canada could, “easily ratify WIPO without agreeing to the onerous restrictions included in the DMCA legislation”.

The DMCA is a failed model, he states. “It doesn’t work in the United States and it won’t address the needs of a 21st century innovation agenda in Canada,” but that won’t stop US trade lobbyists from trying to bring Canada to heel.

“They’ll try to choreograph a sense of fear that Canada is somehow failing internationally if we don’t go the DMCA route,” says Angus, one of the only MPs who’s actually had personal experience of looking to copyright royalties from music, book and textbook sales to make a living.

“Copyright legislation needs to balance the rights of artists with the need to allow new technologies to develop,” he told p2pnet.

It would be very bad public policy, he went on, to, “use legislation to squash new technologies simply because they threaten an existing business model”.

New technologies, “will provide artists with new methods to market their work.”

Canada can come forward with legislation to protect intellectual property and still encourage innovation, according to Angus, but legislators must, “separate important issues such as counterfeiting and bootlegging from issues of fair use and educational research”.

Lobbyists have been, “unfairly treating all consumers as if they were thieves and hackers,” he adds, and, “Certainly we need legislation that is tough on counterfeiting”.

But it shouldn’t, “criminalize teachers who get materials off the internet, and it must not give the green light to major corporations to launch massive lawsuits against children who trade Hanna Montana songs”.

. .Stumble It!

Michael Geist - The Conservative Policy on Treaty Ratification in Action , May 5, 2008

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 6th, 2008 at 5:54 am and is filed under Politics, P2P. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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