ARCHIVED — Zaitsev
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.
Copyright Reform Process
Submission Received Regarding the Consultation
Documents received have been posted in the official language in which they were submitted. All are posted as received by the departments, however all address information has been removed.
Submission from Pavel Zaitsev received on July 29, 2001 3:50 PM via e-mail
Subject: Misuse, and unavailability to smaller entities
Hello,
I wish to comment on law, twin of DCMA contraption that was hauled into
the law books of USA by commercial interests or many wealthy companies, that
wish to be wealthier.
Such a law may be misused, by medium to large companies to cover their incompetence by threat of people who do not wish to break copyright, but to denote how insufficient and weak the copyright control system is. Laws of this kind will render copyright protection systems obsolete as any function but as proxy tool to deter copyright violations via threat of being placed in jail by the law that is currently being drafted.
Furthermore if law as such is passed, we will face dwindling interest in copyright protection systems that actually work. Interest will fall, as economy usually works, price will rise for systems that actually work, that is if they exist and used in media devices that are popular - ala MP3 players, MP3 discmans. There will be no copyright protection systems that actually work, because large companies would rather reserve to old and trusted lawyer/police/FBI/RCMP tools than compete in research environment to devise a better copyright control system. If large companies are not interested in good copyright control systems, there will be no companies to actually provide them, and in turn no good copyright control systems will be built for the use in the consumer products.
As effect of the rising price and pure unavailability of real copyright protection systems, but a set of proxy widgets that can easily be used by lawyers of wealthy entities, copyright of smaller sized outfits and individual artists will be neglected. This law will not encourage a succession of media control systems, and research in these. It will enforce silence onto research community and ultimately put censorship right into hands of commercial entities, who have no interest in rights of people in this country nor interest in research and collaboration, but in control and in taxing every individual for company's supposed contribution to culture and growth of the country.
This law is a step in the right direction, albeit a very risky and gambling one, for the future or Canadians art, music and literature, never mind other forms of expression, like software.
Thank you very much of reading this to the end, it is very important issue, to me, and many of my peers please be wise in building/rejecting this law, as it will tremendously affect our intellectual future for better or for worse.
Pavel Zaitsev
- Date modified:
