Canada hasn’t OK’d downloading
Canada is not legalizing mp3 downloading across the board, reports to the contrary notwithstanding.
"Copying off the Net is legal in Canada only if the copy is made on a medium ordinarily used by consumers to copy music," a source tells p2pnet
*Canada OKs P2P music downloads*, and variations on the theme, has been the headline on- and offline since the Copyright Board of Canada on Friday froze private copying levies on recording devices and at the same time, hiked non-removable memory (such as in Apple’s iPod) by $2 per device for up to one gig of memory, $15 for 1-10 and $25 over 10.
"Downloading copyrighted music from peer-to-peer networks is legal in Canada, although uploading files is not, Canadian copyright regulators said in a ruling released Friday," states CNET News here.
But, "The Board is not legalizing Internet downloading," says a source. "It’s saying that Internet downloading is, and always was, legal in Canada."
On March 19, 1998, Part VIII of Canada’s Copyright Act dealing with private copying legalized, "copying of sound recordings of musical works onto audio recording media for the private use of the person who makes the copy (referred to as ‘private copying’)."
In addition, the amendment, "made provision for the imposition of a levy on blank audio recording media to compensate authors, performers and makers who own copyright in eligible sound recordings being copied for private use. The Copyright Board’s decision issued today [December 17, 1999] sets a levy for this purpose."
That’s ‘private copying’ (ie, file sharing) in Canada, as expressed by the board.
But, "The Board’s declaration, coming as it does in an administrative proceeding, doesn’t have the force of law. Any court could reach a contrary conclusion and THAT would have force of law," says the source.
Nor is the levy a replacement for paying sites, DRM or TPM.
"Copies that are already paid for could be ‘counted out’. If downloading goes down, so will the levy (all other things being equal). If 99% of private copies were authorized, then the levy could disappear altogether."
Moreover, "If music copying moves from CDs to DVDs, the levy could disappear from CDs and be applied to DVDs instead. And if there’s a large enough shift during the live of the tariff, the tariff can be amended."
On the freeze, "The levy on all media except MP3 players has been in place since 2000. And the rates have been frozen. So the impact has already been fully absorbed in the market."
The levy becomes payable, "only once the medium is disposed of in Canada for the purpose of trade. It’s legal to bring in CDs into Canada without paying the levy at the border."
Copyright owners aren’t taking advantage of what was originally an exception to their reproduction right since the private copying exemption came into force on the same day as the levy regime - "It’s a quid pro quo: consumers get private copying, rights holders get the levy," the source points out.
Rumours that the Canada/US border will be monitored were also discounted.
