Damgaard, Bear

1. How do Canada's copyright laws affect you? How should existing laws be modernized?

   Copyright laws affect me daily in a number of different ways. The most obvious ways are as follows:

   • I have a personal interest in history and I would like to believe that history in all forms will remain accessible to future generations and will not get lost because of inability to transform data due to copyright
   • Professionally I work as a programmer and what I write is covered by a copyright that pays my wage
   • Personally, I routinely format shift media for my personal use, and want to be sure that I am always able to do so legally and that my family can do so as well (example of this is to format shift DVD's to xvid format for storage on my personal video server)
   • During my life I have accessed lots of public information and I want to ensure that public information stays accessible to all

   As to how the laws should be modified I think there are four critical points that need to conceptualize:

   1. Reduce copyright terms
   2. No specific provisions for technology in the copyright act
   3. No specific protection for digital rights management
   4. Greatly expanded right for personal use of copyright

2. Based on Canadian values and interests, how should copyright changes be made in order to withstand the test of time?

   History would seem to indicate the more open the better for our culture as a whole. Reduced term lengths of copyright to inspire derived works sooner before it is lost and the relevance fades. No provisions for specific technology, as there is no way to predict what technology will come about, the laws should be technology neutral. No protection for digital rights management as this can quickly lead to in abilities to interoperate, as well as loss of historical data due to problems circumventing the management schema. Improved flexibility (expand fair dealings) for end users of copyright materials to allow for greater creativity and creation of new entrepreneurial opportunities.

3. What sorts of copyright changes do you believe would best foster innovation and creativity in Canada?

   This is a similar question to #2, but the two most important changes I personally see are the reduction in copyright terms and expanded fair dealings or expanded users rights.

4. What sorts of copyright changes do you believe would best foster competition and investment in Canada?

   Again, the closely relates to question #2, but creating technology neutral laws, and not specifically providing for any piece of technology such as digital rights management leave way more room for competition and investment.

5. What kinds of changes would best position Canada as a leader in the global, digital economy?

   First, I would say that this would require that international treaties not be accepted without extensive review, as these can very quickly lead to imbalances in our countries approach. Why I mention this here is to become a global leader there may be a need to not accept international pressure on this issue.

   As for what would best position us for leadership? First and foremost, NO specific protection for digital rights management is a must. This routinely quashes innovation in the United States (as evident by the digital millennium copyright act). The second change would be greatly expanded personal use. This would allow people more freedom to use technology and launch us forward.