Copyright Consultations
copyrightconsultation.gc.ca
Common menu bar links
Archived - Sutcliffe, Nathan
Archived Content
Information identified as archived on the Web is for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It has not been altered or updated after the date of archiving. Web pages that are archived on the Web are not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards. As per the Communications Policy of the Government of Canada, you can request alternate formats on the "Contact Us" page.
My name is Nathan Sutcliffe and I am a software developer working for small software company in British Columbia. I would like to participate in the copyright modernization consultation process by submitting the following comments.
As a software developer, my livelihood is based on the selling of copyrighted materials. I trust any change to the copyright laws will not change our ability to enforce copyrights. We should be able to limit the copying of our software and to use "digital locks" to enforce this. (I believe the term "digital locks" is understood to mean some sort of copy protection scheme in the context of this discussion.) If someone uses our software without paying for it (whether or not they "broke" any digital locks or not), there need to punishment handed out.
As well as being a software developer, I am also a consumer. As a consumer of copyrighted materials (software, music, video, etc), there are certain things that I want to be able to do with the materials I legally purchase. These include being able to protect myself from loss by making backup copies of digital materials and being able to listen or view the contents I buy using the devices I choose in the times and places I choose.
Here are some specific examples of activities that I don't want to be illegal:
- Making backups of purchased software and music
- Copying a purchased movie from a DVD to a cell phone to watch on the go
- Copying a song onto a portable music player to listen to at work while leaving a copy at home
- Watching a TV show at a time other than when it was broadcasted
- Continuing to enjoy purchased content after the format it was sold in (like VHS, cassette or CD) is obsolete
- Continuing to enjoy purchased content after the company that sold it to me has gone bankrupt
Last year's Bill C-61 purported to give consumers the rights to do some of these things, but it also would have made it illegal to break "digital locks". By encumbering a product with a digital lock (however feeble the lock), the content provider stripped the consumer of any of the rights given them by Bill-61.
A right that can be arbitrarily taken away is no right at all.
I urge the Canadian government to grant its citizens rights of reasonable use of the copyrighted materials they purchase, while still enforcing copyright.
Nathan Sutcliffe
