Liberal MP to table IP petitions
p2pnet.net News:- Another brick is going into the wall to block Canada`s Liberal government from re-writing the country`s copyright act.
And it’s being set by Liberal back-bencher David McGuinty.
On Friday he’ll table a further 583 petitions demanding that attempts by ministers Liza Frulla (heritage) and David Emerson (industry) to have Canada’s intellectual property laws amended to suit the entertainment industry be held off.
Last month, opposition MP Peter Julian (NDP) presented the Petition for Users Rights to parliament.
Petitioners want this house to maintain the balance between the rights of the public and the rights of the creators,” he said.
“They demand that the government not extend the term of copyright, and preserve all existing users’ rights to ensure a vibrant public domain. The petitioners also call upon parliament to ensure that users are recognized as interested parties and are meaningfully consulted about any proposed changes to the copyright act.”
Ministers aren’t able to table petitions to parliament and McGuinty is the only Liberal MP who’s not a minister to express an interest, digital-copyright.ca’s Russell McOrmond told p2pnet.
McGuinty, who was president and ceo of the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (NRTEE), wasn’t immediately available for comment.
Frulla, meanwhile, is firmly in the court of the entertainment industry and has said unequivocally that she wants to have the Canadian IP laws changed. Among other things, she says she wants the movie and record label cartels empowered to sue Canadians in the same way they now routinely sue Americans.
Not one of the more than 10,037 US victims has ever been found guilty of anything. But the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) is able to imply it’s successfully sued thousands of people for file sharing, which isn’t a crime in the US or anywhere else.
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See:-
suit the entertainment industry – Canada’s anti-p2p plan, p2pnet, March 25, 2005
Peter Julian – Cdn copyright petition lodged, p2pnet, April 7, 2005
empowered – Frulla backs Big Music, p2pnet, April 5, 2005
thousands of people – 10,037 people sued by RIAA, p2pnet, May 1, 2005
May 4th, 2005 at 10:08 pm
From Roger Dannenberg, professor of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon, one of the schools whose students were targetted.
“the music industry is guilty of its own misdeeds and has no place condemning others for theirs.”
And Frulla wants Big Music to have the power of suing Canadians ?
May 5th, 2005 at 12:02 am
Frulla … said … Among other things, she wants the movie and record label cartels empowered to sue Canadians in the same way they now routinely sue Americans.
Yeah and if wasn’t for a couple boutique lawyers who special in trademark law who botched the original case by not providing evidence, copyright certificates etc then possibly the sue ‘em all style from down south would be happening up here. But – different country, different policies and laws create different outcomes …