-------- Original Message -------- Subject: Canadian Gov't Unveils Copyright Reform Plans Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2005 12:59:36 -0500 From: Michael Geist <mgeist@private> To: declan@private Declan, This morning the Canadian government unveiled its plans for copyright reform. While a bill won't come for a couple of months, the announcement spells out where the country is headed on WIPO and other key copyright issues. In a nutshell -- Canada is going to spared the DMCA -- 1. The package will include an anti-circumvention provision applied to copyright material. There is no mention of extending the provision to devices (as is the case in the U.S.) and the specific reference to applying the provision to copyright material suggests that the provision will limit its applicability to circumvention to commit copyright infringement. The rights management information is similarly limited to instances to "further or conceal copyright infringement." While no anti-circumvention provision would be better, this suggests that the Canadian provision will feature some real balance. Moreover, the government makes clear that "the circumvention of a TPM applied to copyright material will only be illegal if it is carried out with the objective of infringing copyright. Legitimate access, as authorized by the Copyright Act, will not be altered." This is very different from anti-circumvention provisions found in the U.S. However, the government also notes that circumvention for the purposes of private copying will not be permitted, meaning people may find themselves paying for a CD and paying a levy on blank CD yet unable to make the copy of the underlying CD. 2. Canada will also be spared a DMCA-style notice and takedown system. The government is instead proposing a "notice and notice" system -- content only comes down with a court order. I've posted more info on my blog at http://www.michaelgeist.ca/ The government docs are at http://pch.gc.ca/progs/ac-ca/progs/pda-cpb/reform/statement_e.cfm http://pch.gc.ca/progs/ac-ca/progs/pda-cpb/reform/faq_e.cfm MG -- ********************************************************************** Professor Michael A. Geist Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law University of Ottawa Law School, Common Law Section 57 Louis Pasteur St., Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 6N5 Tel: 613-562-5800, x3319 Fax: 613-562-5124 mgeist@private http://www.michaelgeist.ca _______________________________________________ Politech mailing list Archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ Moderated by Declan McCullagh (http://www.mccullagh.org/)
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