Archived - Blair, Andy

Copyright matters to me because Canadian heritage and our nation's econcomic future depend on a non-restrictive flow of information, and area I work in. Here are some things the government can do to ensure copyright reforms don't do more harm than good:

Recognize that technological neutrality is important — the government should not favour or disfavour particular proprietary or open technologies, or business models. Instead, the market should decide. The government must remain neutral. It should not ban particular technologies per se, but rather particular uses (ie. if it causes copyright infringement).

Adopt a balanced approach — as the Supreme Court has already ruled (2002), the government must recognise not just creator's rights, but the limited nature of those rights. Public rights to access works in time and in manners of their choosing are the foundation of future cultural, technological, and economic advances in our society, and the public domain must be protected. The government should not allow anti-circumvention legislation. It should get rid of Crow Copyright — after all, the Canadian public has already paid for the creation of these works, and therefore should have access.

Change Fair Dealing in law to be more like Fair Use — User rights should include the right to parody, format and time shift, backup, and device shift.

Don't limit access to the internet — a "three strikes" system based on unproven allegations will be used as tool to censure and harass in many cases, if it is implemented. Instead, a "notice and notice" regime would be effective and sufficient, and gross abuses would largely be avoided.

Andy Blair
Ottawa, Canada