ARCHIVED — Roger Lam
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COPYRIGHT REFORM PROCESS
SUBMISSIONS RECEIVED REGARDING THE CONSULTATION PAPERS
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 Roger Lam received on September 9, 2001 via e-mail
Subject: CPDCI
This letter is intended for Industry Canada, the Intellectual Property Policy Directorate, and other concerned groups.
I am troubled by the intellectual property proposals in the Consultation Paper on Digital Copyright Issues (CPCDI), the probable result of which will be to remove fundamental human rights.
The CPCDI's main goal is to protect the performer. However, it does not protect the performer, but in actuality, the copyright holders. These re often not the performers, but large publishing houses. The actual performers receive only a tiny fraction of what profits are actually made.
Considering that the CPCDI is based on the American Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), I wish to point out some consequences already brought about by this flawed legislation.
This Act shifted the balance of power in the United States between the consumer and the producer. As a result, the United States government is currently dealing with several legal battles, brought up by profit-seeking publishing houses.
Consider the case of Dmitry Skylarov, a Russian programmer injustly incarcerated for breaking U.S. copyright law - while in Russia. Mr. Skylarov created methods for making backups of certain media types - an act completely legal and, in fact, required by Russian law - and upon visiting the United States of America, was arrested!
Other victims of the DMCA include Princeton professor Edward Felten, who was threatened with a lawsuit by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for writing a paper describing a method of circumventing music encryption technology. Note that the RIAA is a strong backer of the DMCA.
Another unfortuate victim was Web journalist Eric Corley. Mr. Corley posted links to DeCSS, a program designed to decrypt DVD discs for viewing on non-Windows computer systems, and was barred from exercising his right to free speech by the Motion Picture Association of America. The legislation used to crush free speech? The DMCA, of course.
The CPDCI is strongly based on the DMCA - which has already proven itself flawed. I requst that this proposal be rejected.
Sincerely,
Roger Lam
(Address removed)
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