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Copyright Reform Process
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Submission from Joel Tone received on September 04, 2001 9:49 AM via e-mail
Subject: Comments on "Consultation Paper on digital Copyright Issues"
I wish to comment on the "Consultation Paper on Digital Copyright Issues" published on your web site. It describes how the United States has already implemented new copyright legislation with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). I do not like the idea of such an law being passed in Canada.
The legal actions taken under the DMCA show how easily this kind of law is abused, e.g. the DeCSS case the Sklyarov "circumvention trafficking" cases. In the first case the DMCA was used to prevent consumers from viewing legally purchased merchandise from a place and at a time individually chosen by the purchaser. It seems to me that this kind of arbitrary restriction is very much against the public's interests. In the Sklyarov case, the author of a product for bypassing anti-copying was arrested while visiting the United States. This kind of bypass software has many legitimate uses, such as making personal backups or translating the product into a format which is more accessible to disabled users. This layer of protection should not be a concern of the Copyright Act.
As for Internet Service Provider liability, my position is that ISPs server as carriers of information in much the same way as telephone companies do. In the same way that telephone companies are not held responsible for illegal activities carried out by phone, ISPs should not be liable for illegal activities carried out using their services. I fear that any other approach would lead to undue censorship.
In closing, I encourage you to think firstly of the ways the new laws could be abused when making changes. Purchasing works in a digital format should not place restrictions upon the purchaser which are not present for those who purchase the work in a conventional medium. If you want a more detailed argument, please read Matthew Skala's "New Media Copyright Extensions Would Harm Canada" at http://ansuz.sooke.bc.ca/icsub.html#sklyarov Thank you for your attention.
Joel Tone
[Address, phone number and e-mail address removed]
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