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COPYRIGHT REFORM PROCESS
SUBMISSIONS RECEIVED REGARDING THE CONSULTATION PAPERS
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Submission from Cam Smithers received on July 24, 2001 7:32 PM via e-mail
Subject: Comments - Government of Canada Copyright Reform
Comments - Government of Canada Copyright Reform
Copyright must be addressed from two equal perspectives: that of the copyright holder and the consumer. My views represents many of the views expressed by technology enthusiasts as well. We believe in freedom of information, consumer rights, and technology’s new role in Canadian’s lives. Many of us are scared that our rights as consumers and citizens will be taken away as globalization occurs. Big businesses becoming larger and larger every minute, and their voice is drowning out the everyday common person. Sure, all businesses and individuals are entitled to hold the rights to the work that they created. However, in an insane rush for protection lead by corporate lobbyists, we see our politicians representing the corporations instead of the people.
Additions to the copyright laws that prevent fair use by prohibiting the circumvention of encryption or protection techniques is unwanted by consumers. If such a law was created, it would produce criminals out of technology enthusiasts such as myself. It would then be up to the government to prosecute and incarcerate their citizens for the protection of corporate monopolies. Even if such a law was created, it would be unconstitutional. Computer programs are defined to be works of literature, and such things are protected under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. If you tried to prevent the writing and distribution of pieces of literature, it would make a mockery of Canada and all that it stands for. Because most pieces of encryption can only really be decrypted or broken by a computer program itself, any action to prevent this would be considered unconstitutional.
From purely a technological standpoint, on the issue of Internet Service Providers, liability should not be burdened on such organizations. ISPs do not have the capabilities of censoring anything on the fly. They should not be accountable for any material that is not expressly implemented or developed by them. The only actions that should be taken by the ISP when a conflict arises is to either terminate the infringing user or remove articles that he/she chose to make available on server space provided by the ISP. The only way copyright holders should be able to intimidate an ISP is through the court order to remove material or users from the network.
Imposing tariffs on an ISP is not a fair in my eyes. Copyright holders should not be given tax money on the basis of their work "could" have been stolen. If any action would be taken for compensation, the money should come from a fine by the person who decided to break the copyright laws. Punishing every user or ISP because they merely "access" the internet and "could" have performed a copyright violation is a blatant abuse of power. It should be noted as well that figures created by copyright holders are usually embellished to include lost sales assuming that the user would have purchased the right to view the copyrighted content anyway. No fixed price tag can ever be established to accurately predict what would have been lost, nor is anything really "stolen" from them. This does not even mention that sales could even be heightened by acts of piracy. Even though it is now legal to share copyrighted music because of a compact disk tax, this still stands on all forms of material like movies, sounds, and images, including music.
On the subject of international copyright, if someone hosts materials on a server located in another country, it should be treated as if they actually traveled to that country and performed the act there. However, if the copyrighted material actually makes it to a computer in Canada, then, and only then should the person be held under Canadian law. No person should be held accountable for performing actions when not actually handling the information on Canadian soil. Also, no person of another nation should be brought under Canadian law while they are outside of the country. People from around the world cannot be expected to conform to Canadian laws when a Canadian internet user performs an action that may have been provided or assisted by the person outside the country. However, an exception can be made for people who have a presence in Canada. The person who hosts the server outside the country did not make any conscious decision to bring the information into Canada. Also, it is nearly impossibly for a website to establish the user’s true location.
The Internet is a new technology, but its not exactly a magic black box on any account either. Sane, rational, and fair laws can be established so that users and copyright holders both have the rights they were meant to have. People should not be turned into criminals because ignorant laws were created by ignorant politicians.
Thanks for your time,
Cam Smithers
(e-mail address removed)
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