Dear Ministers,

The last thing we should want to do in Canada is to repeat any errors made by our neighbours to the south with regard to copyright reform.

Apple presents a good example demonstrating back peddling on lousy implementation of DRM when it allowed DRM-free music sales starting in Jan 09 in response to overwhelming demand and backlash from their customers.

DRM is bad for business. Its use by Apple, Apple iTunes, Apple iPod and Windows media player and even the publication, Nature, has led me to turn in the exact opposite direction and take my business elsewhere. I couldn't rip a cd to play it on my computer or portable player and I stopped following that artist altogether, stopped buying their albums and stopped playing them on my radio show.

I have been following and thoroughly support Michael Geist's contributions and other referenced contributions at http://www.speakoutoncopyright.ca

Queen's University Principal and Vice-Chancellor Daniel Woolf summarizes his article in The Mark (http://themarknews.com/articles/484) and some of the most significant issues with great clarity:

1. Digital locks, though they may be used to stop piracy, must not impede users' rights.
2. Fair dealing ought to be clarified and amplified.
3. Specialized exceptions ought to be used sparingly because they likely wouldn't be able to keep up with technological change or accommodate a range of reasonable educational practices.
4. Licensing mechanisms must not be seen as a substitute for users' rights.

The absence of an educational exemption for the Internet — as advocated by the AUCC — suggests that more of the educational community is (rightly) shifting toward fair dealing and DRM as the critical issues.

Fair dealing is incredibly important for all Canadians and not just for university-based academics.

Sincerely,

Trish Turliuk
Toronto, Ontario