Sep 08 2009

The Honourable Tony Clement
Minister Of Industry, Science & Technology
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6

The Honourable James Moore
Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6

The Right Honourable Stephen Harper
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6

Dear Ministers,

As a consumer of digital media and electronics I stand to be greatly impacted by changes to the Canadian copyright regime. I am worried that this Government may wrongly adopt the American approach to digital copyright law as evidenced by prior draft bills including Bill C-61.

It is essential that Canadian copyright laws advance consumer and creator interests by not employing an all-encompassing prohibition on the development and manufacturing of circumvention devices and technologies, commercial trade of circumvention devices and technologies, the possession and/or utilization of any device or technology that can circumvent a TPM or DRM for a non-infringing purpose or otherwise lawful activity such as fair dealing, interoperability, time and format shifting.

The Copyright Act should be amended to bring the backup copy provision into the 21st century by expanding the right to make an archival backup copy to all digital consumer products regardless of format or media.

Amendments to the Copyright Act seeking to add provisions relating to the liability of Internet intermediaries and subscriber actions should take a "notice and notice" approach that will provide the best balance between the protection of intellectual property rights and the fundamental rights of individual and academic expression.

Amendments to the Copyright Act need to ensure that statutory damages are limited and users must be protected from statutory damages if the user has good-faith to believe their actions and use of the work in question was fair and non-infringing, or if the user is engaged in purely private and non-commercial activity.

The concept of technological neutrality is paramount when considering changes to Canada's copyright regime that will withstand the test of time. The Government must not integrate protection for specific technologies or business models into any amendments to the Copyright Act (e.g. all-encompassing prohibition of circumvention devices and technologies). Any new legislation should be technologically-neutral to maintain flexibility into the future.

To further foster innovation, creativity, competition and investment in Canada and to position Canada as a leader in the global digital economy, it is important to expand and protect the doctrine of fair dealing. As fair dealing will undoubtedly provide any new legislation with the elasticity to adapt to future business models and new forms of creativity.

In order to direct and facilitate the digitization of Canadian heritage, a clear commitment needs to be made in order to preserve the current term of copyright. A pre-determined and generally accepted public domain date must be established for the good of all Canadians and the preservation of the heritage we so proudly maintain.

Finally, I strongly believe that as a member country actively engaged in the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) Canada should not allow this non-transparent trade agreement to override the democratic process and legal framework of the Canadian domestic Copyright Act. While supposedly designed to address counterfeit physical goods as well as Internet distribution and information technology, ACTA provisions may prove to over-ride any type of domestic copyright laws and negate the entire copyright reform process.

Fortunately, there remains time and opportunity for Canada to draft legislation to ensure that the rights, values and interests of all Canadians are reflected in a truly Canadian-to-the-core approach to copyright reform. I am encouraged by the public consultations on copyright that the Government is engaged in and I am confident that this will open up the development of Canadian copyright policy to more than just traditional lobby groups and the corporate interests that have directed policies in the past.

Isn\'t it time we tell the corporate world that a change is needed in their business model to survive and prosper. I get tired of hearing how much they are affected by piracy only to see profits grow. Movies earnings are at all time highs and yet they claim poverty. Worst still they are suing for millions of dollars for songs that can be purchased for 99 cents on itunes. Their detection methods have been shown to be flawed and there knowledge of the technologies involved is seriously lacking as was shown in the info from The Pirate Bay trial. If they have their way p2p would be outlawed as it has the potential for infringement. They are jailing pirates now. They want to turn a civil matter into a criminal one.

I\'m a huge proponent of open source software, these technologies help with distribution of this free software and facilitate a function that without user support would never be possible. Clamping down on a technologies only kills the legit uses. Everything has the potential for abuse I\'m hoping Canada has the foresight to make proper decisions and not be bullied. We need to foster innovation not crush it.

Seems a small thing but I get tired of reading about this issue. Being in the computer field I follow it with some interest. I have seen what is going on from a global standpoint on these issues and the enforcement tactics are no better then the piracy they are meant to prevent. I can record my Monday night TV shows on a DVR but if I download it off the net I\'ll be branded a criminal. What is the difference, both formats are electronic? I can guarantee one thing I have only voted once in this country but have been eligible to for well over 20 years. The party that tries to push this through I will surely vote against

Sincerely,

N Bell
Lacewood Dr
Halifax
Nova Scotia
b3m 1p4

cc: Marc Garneau — Official Opposition Critic For Industry, Science & Technology

cc: Pablo Rodriguez — Official Critic For Canadian Heritage and Official Languages

cc: Charlie Angus — NDP Digital Affairs Critic