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More Copyright MPs

By Michael Geist

My initial posting on the Copyright MPs - the 27 ridings that are home to a university and were closely contested in the 2006 election - attracted a fair amount of attention.  I'll be updating the list shortly to include another group of Copyright MPs that hail from ridings with large community colleges (that list includes several notable cabinet ministers).  It is important to note, however, that copyright could affect many MPs who do not have a large educational presence in their riding. 

For example, consider Simcoe North Conservative MP Bruce Stanton.  The Conservatives took this riding away from the Liberals for the first time since 1993 in the 2006 election.  Stanton won by only 1,188 votes or about 2 percent.  Is Simcoe North a copyright riding?  Read this article from the Orillia Packet & Times, which sits in the heart of the riding:

The changes are so bad the government's own privacy commissioner is against it. People should not be downloading or making available copyrighted material that should be bought, but the bill the government is going to introduce goes way too far beyond that and we all need to take action. I urge you to learn how this will affect you and take the time to let MP Bruce Stanton, and other appropriate government officials know your opinion.

Stories like these are popping up across the country as the public concern cuts across language, geography, and political affiliation.  If Industry Minister Jim Prentice proceeds with a Canadian DMCA, he may well succeed in turning the majority of his cabinet and caucus colleagues into Copyright MPs.

Full post as published by Michael Geist on January 31, 2008 (boomark / email).