Home -> Law Blog Directory -> International Law Blogs -> Excess Copyright

International Law

: Excess Copyright

COPYRIGHT INTERRUPTUS

By Howard Knopf

It started. It stopped. It almost happened. Twice in one week. The tabling that was supposed to take place on December 11, 2007 didn?t happen. It was supposed to happen again today, Thursday, December 13, 2007. It didn?t happen.

This is a bit ambiguous. It would have been better in some respects to see the bill in all its detail - and let the public have 6 - 8 weeks to analyse and debate it before the House resumes. Now, it?s back to the backrooms, where anything can happen. Hopefully for the better, possibly for the worse.

The better scenario is that the Bill will get much better in the interim, and deal with the right issues so that it can be improved even more in Committee. And/or that it be tabled as a ?draft? bill, like I suggested yesterday. This might be something like the ?exposure draft? mechanism that they have in Australia, as I understand it.

Let?s hope that the Ministers and the PMO get this right and do the right thing, whether for sound policy reasons for simply for purely political reasons. They would then garner a huge amount of respect from the thousands of wired and articulate people who are watching this drama unfold and who are not going to fade away and forget very easily.

Here is my suggestion.

The Government should rework the bill that it obviously had profound second thoughts about and come up with one that ensures that:

1. ISPs should face no liability for users? activities if they to respond promptly to ?notice and notice? demands. ?Notice and takedown? is not appropriate in Canada.

2. DRM and TPM protection measures must be minimal at most and not circumvent user?s rights to do anything otherwise legal under the Copyright Act or interfere with users? first sale and exhaustion rights and must be directed at specific behaviour and not multipurpose technology.

3. Users? rights must be extended to include such fair dealing rights as parody, time shifting and format shifting. They should be inclusive and not exhaustive, i.e. with inclusion of inclusive language such as ?such as?....Broadcasters should get their ephemeral rights. There?s no need and no basis for a special educational exception for the internet.

4. The private copying levy scheme should be repealed

5. Any ?Making available? right must require proof of actual and prejudicial distribution.

6. Statutory minimum damages should be eliminated against:
a. Any person (individual or corporate) and any third parties serving them when there is a bona fide belief that the activity is fair dealing
b. Any person (individual or corporate) doing anything without any expectation of direct financial gain.

This government could earn immense respect from countless real Canadians and people who watch Canada around the world if it shows real leadership here.

HK

Full post as published by Excess Copyright on December 13, 2007 (boomark / email).