Quebecor vs Copyright Board
p2p news / p2pnet: In an interesting, and highly poetic, development, Canada’s Quebecor Media says its Archambault Group "is fighting a proposal before the [Canadian] Copyright Board to collect more royalties from its website Zik.ca".
This comes in a London Free Press report which kicks off with, "Steep copyright tariffs will kill startup online music services and drive up illegal piracy, according to an industry insider."
Archambault wants a Federal Court of Appeal judicial review, "but withdrew its opposition filed with the Copyright Board due to exorbitant costs and a requirement to disclose sensitive business and financial information," says the story.
"We have to incur expenses in the range of $250,000 to $500,000," company lawyer Serge Sasseville said. "So what we’re saying is the process is abusive. If you want to be heard – it’s a new business at a loss in a new market where no one is making money – you have to incur between $250,000 and $500,000 just to be heard by the Copyright Board and you are being asked to disclose information that is detrimental to you."
Quebecor owns Videotron, an ISP which wanted to help the CRIA (Canadian Recording Industry Association of America) introduce Organized Music’s anti-p2p, anti-file sharing sue ‘em all marketing campaign into Canada.
OM was trying to force Telus, Shaw, Bell Sympatico, Rogers Communications and Videotron to reveal the identities of the 29 people the CRIA said were sharing music with each other.
Videotron was the only company willing to cooperate and as Sasseville said at the time, "We do it on a regular basis.”
Proposed Copyright Board royalties would amount to 40 cents for each 99-cent song paid by a Zik.ca customer, says the London Free Press.
"That leaves 59 cents for the company, the record label, the producer, the performing artist and any other person who might have a right to collect money.
"We can’t play that game anymore and if they do it, all the online music services will be out of business while Canadian music lovers won’t be able to buy legally music online. It will encourage an increase in music piracy," it quotes Sasseville as declaring.
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See:-
London Free Press – Tariffs seen as boost to piracy, November 5, 2005
reveal the identities – Are Quebec file sharers at risk?, March 13, 2005
