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FYI: Canada knuckling under, may boot pirates off web

By: Vito Pilieci

21/11/2009 1:00 AM | Comments: 16

CANADIAN officials are taking part in negotiations for a top-secret copyright treaty that could see families barred from the Internet for a year if someone in the household is suspected of illegal down­loads.

Under the worldwide rules of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), Internet service providers such as Bell and Rogers in Canada would be required to become copyright police and filter out pirated material from their networks, hand over the identities of customers believed to be infringing copyrights and restrict the use of identity-blocking software.

ACTA would employ a three-strikes policy. People believed to be regularly downloading copy-protected material, such as movie and music files, could have their Internet connection severed for up to 12 months and forced to pay a fine.

"It's incredibly disproportionate. Three unproven allegations of infringement will cut off Internet service for a year for an entire family," said Michael Geist, who holds the Canada Research Chair in Internet and e-commerce Law at the University of Ottawa.

"It's not based on the individual user, it's based on the connection," added Geist, who said he has received details of the proposals from people closely associated with drafting the agreement.

The treaty, which is being pushed forward by the Office of the United States Trade Representative, closely mimics the controversial Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) that governs copyright issues in the U.S.

It puts in place measures that would make it illegal for consumers to make backup copies of DVDs or other media with built-in copy-protection technology.

Other provisions could make information on iPods, laptops and other personal electronic devices illegal and force travellers to prove to border officials that the content on such devices was acquired through legal channels.

The U.S. has been particularly vocal about Canada's lack of copyright reform. The U.S. Trade Representative placed Canada on its piracy "priority watch list" earlier this year, labelling Canada a piracy haven alongside Algeria, Indonesia, China and Russia.

After less than a week on the job, the new U.S. ambassador to Canada, David Jacobson, scolded Canada for what he said were lax copyright laws.

The Canadian Copyright Act has not been amended since 1997, two years before the Napster file-sharing site forever changed the way people obtain music and movies online. An attempt to update the act in 2005 was abandoned and amendments proposed last year were stalled by a federal election.

The government now is polling citizens on copyright issues and collecting opinions on how best to amend Canadian laws. But the introduction of ACTA, which would force Canada to adopt international copyright standards, would likely make those discussions meaningless.

"We are looking at a global DMCA," said Geist. "From a Canadian perspective, having just conducted a copyright consultation and having ministers talk about a 'made-in-Canada' copyright solution, what it actually represents is a loss of Canadian sovereignty over its copyright policies."

ACTA negotiations went on this week in South Korea with representatives from Canada, the European Commission, Japan, Switzerland, New Zealand, Australia, Mexico, Morocco, Singapore, the Republic of Korea and the United States.

According to the website of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, participants in the talks have confirmed "their intention to conclude the agreement as soon as possible in 2010."

Federal trade agreements do not require parliamentary approval. Only the signature of a government representative is needed for an agreement to be passed as law.

According to leaked documents, ACTA would operate under a governing body overseen by a committee of representatives from member nations.

Many say the movie and music industries are behind the talks, but Graham Henderson, president of the Canadian Recording Industry Association, said his organization has had little input on the trade agreement.

"We have been 'consulted' to exactly the same extent that everyone else in Canada has been consulted," said Henderson in an email from England.

He said his group joined academics and lobbyists at a handful of briefings on ACTA, but little was revealed.

-- Canwest News Service

 

 

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition November 21, 2009 H5

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16 Commentscomment icon

Woo Hoo. Now if i have to go down to the states with mp3 player, i will have to bring my receipts for 1000+ songs!!

You fools obviously don't know that all of this is already going on in the States. ISPs are sending warning letters to individual households threatening them with interruption of service just because a network like HBO sends an IP address to the provider. People are being fined millions of dollars for downloading a handful of songs. It's already going on.

All Canada needs is one signature for this to be law.

oh oh better get rid of that pvr!!!

avatar

Just say NO!

Again - if the ISP is checking your downloads for illegal material, then that's a violation of our Charter rights.

Done and done.

"Federal trade agreements do not require parliamentary approval. Only the signature of a government representative is needed for an agreement to be passed as law."

Yes StopLying, this is the real big issue here. Not only does this affect our entertainment but affects real issues. This affects our resources, even Canada's greatest one, WATER.

This is so much more important then IKEA breaking ground and Lyle Bauer.

Corporations know no national boundaries and don't follow any specific sets of laws. They control politicians around the world, because they have all the money. Corporations control the main stream media either through outright ownership or advertising budgets. They have massive amounts of lobbyists and have tremendous influence on our governments. Corporations are the ones really calling the shots.

Everyone should watch "THE NATION'S DEATHBED" on Youtube or Google video.

Is this the best road for the future of humanity?
Will we chose liberty or tyranny?

If the day comes that this law is put into effect, millions of households will suddenly be without internet. Just imagine the uproar.

I say no, because I don't want the rich to become richer.

Ps: The new US ambassador to Canada shall go onto my list of "least favourite people".

"The government now is polling citizens on copyright issues and collecting opinions on how best to amend Canadian laws"

Give me a break, as if the government cares what the citizenry thinks. These new copyright laws will be crafted by and for media companies.

avatar

Federal trade agreements do not require parliamentary approval. Only the signature of a government representative is needed for an agreement to be passed as law.

...and that's how we lost our country

As far as I remember, Canada places a tax on all media, which goes to the music business as a way to combat the file sharing.

I can't see this ever going to happen, in either Canada or the US. Cable companies could care less what you are doing with your internet connection, having to police it themselves will cost them additional money - which will be obviously passed on to the consumer. They certainly aren't going to take a hit to their bottom line for this. Also, I'm assuming that they would not be getting paid for another 12 month period if your caught, so there's another lost customer for the year.

I don't have any sympathy for the music business - they look at the number of illegal downloads and say that is how much they should be making per year. Obviously consumers download more music and movies than what they would normally buy or watch at a theater, so these stats are very skewed to suit their favour.

The record companies are trying to just make money by forcing people to buy their product, when really it's the music that we want to listen to, not the purchase of the product. Musicians make their money by touring and merchandise sales, with most having less than 5% of their revenues coming from the CD sales - it's the record company that's making the money there.

I do kind of feel sorry for the movie, software and video game industries, they are the ones that are really getting hammered on this.

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