Another good source for this history is Lawrence Lessig’s book “free culture” that tries to remind us of our past so that we aren’t doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past. http://www.free-culture.cc/

Something to always remember in this debate: the “recording industry” and Hollywood were “pirates” at their inception, and were legalized later. The nonsense that this generation of “pirates” (often innovators exploring new methods of creation, distribution and/or funding of creativity) should be stopped by last generation of “pirates”.

As to the third set of extremists, the “software manufacturing” companies represented by the Business Software Alliance (CAAST in Canada): their membership is also often found guilty of copyright and patent infringement, with remedies from the courts that are often in the tens or hundreds of millions of dollars. Their claim to be the “copyright police” is like rogue gangs claiming to be “law and order”.

there are many good canadian films and tv shows, and if you live anywhere outside the states, you’ll probably have a chance to see them on tv or in the cinema. if you line in the states, you don’t know what you’re missing because the cartels and networks won’t allow better quality “foreign” films to push into the mainstream distribution zones of their inferior hollywood crap.

most americans are unaware that many of their most beloved tv and film performers are canadian, nor do they realise that quite a few of the most popular movies are filmed in canada at a lower cost than if produced domestically “in country”.

this is because the cartels will not publicize that info, which leads the population to believe the “product” is “made in america”.

not only are a lot of major films produced in canada, but quite a few (perhaps the majority?) of independent films are as well. films that will never been seen by most americans.

and “independent” used to mean high quality, unknown performers and directors, and lower budgets. today, most major studios have their own “independent” film companies producing movies with famous performers, huge budgets and the same low quality as always. what’s independent about that?

there is no real reciprocation between hollywood and canada (and the rest of the world) other than canada allowing for the cheaper production costs to hollywood crap, and hollywood in turn claiming “ownership” of canadian performers and their works.