Archived - Davies, Myra

1. As a content creator I am suspicious of copyright law  as a possible constraint on my  freedom to deal with contemporary culture as subject. And I am horrified by the specter of US property law invading the public realm.

2. This question is so badly written, it leads me to  wonder if  writing this is waste of time. As you must know — No law withstands  "the test of time". At best law not too out of sync with conditions.

   Re  current Can copyright law revision: Canadian values and interests are not served by buying into the   ideologically-driven American model of the expansion of intellectual  property rights — as part of the  aggressive extension of private  property law into the public realm.

     I fear Canada will be politically intimidated and economically  bludgeoned  into following this model — despite our distinctly  different history and legal traditions  in both the common and civil  law jurisdiction.

3. I favour  copy right  law that would strike a reasonable  balance  between creators' rights and the public right to access cultural  heritage and intellectual expression.

   I think this legislation should support an attachment to the original  creator and discourage trade in copyright as an entirely transferable  property.

   To that end, I'd like to see restraint  of the rights of 3rd party  copyright owners, eg  companies of the media industries. For  example,  the rule on expiry of copyright expiry — they would like to  extend or erase it. We need to resist that.

   In sum —  I hope we do not lose  the original intent of copy right  law  to protect the claim of a human being that creates a work — to  be paid for it. I don't want to see Canadian Copy Right law become an instrument  for big business and the state, acting on behalf of big business, to  oppress citizens and  invade our privacy.

4. I question  number 4 — copy right law is assumed to be primarily  an instrument of business development.  I strongly disagree that this  should be it's primary function and measure. I want a Copy right law that fosters  talent and supports the  development of works of intellectual and cultural heritage. I doubt  that goal can be served by a law designed as a business  development tool.

   My main point is — I  strongly oppose the American model.