ARCHIVED — Graham Hudson
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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 Graham Hudson received on September 9, 2001 via e-mail
Subject: Copyright reform process
To Industry Canada, the Department of Canadian Heritage, the Intellectual Property Policy Directorate and other concerned agencies:Please don't make the same mistake that the United States of America made.
Don't make it illegal to do intellectual research and present this information to the public.
- If I've discovered that an encryption process is faulty, I shouldn't be arrested for explaining the nature of the mistakes to a public forum, nor should I be threatened by a corporation (or the government) if I intend to make this information public in anyway. Stifling the exchange of intellectual discussion is the work of backwater countries and dictatorial regimes.
Don't make it illegal to make a back up copy of anything that I have purchased.
- If I've bought a CD, I would like to be able to make a copy of it for my car. That way my original copy is not in danger of being stolen from my car and I can always make another copy if the first copy is taken. I've always had the right to make a copy, and I pay a surcharge on any blank media I purchase because of this right. Don't take it away from me.
Don't create legislation that is too broad and poorly worded that overzealous attorneys for the government or corporations can use it to attack Canadian who aren't truly breaking any laws.
- Make any copyright legislation precisely worded and clearly delineated about what is legal and what is illegal. Making copies of copyrighted materials and distributing them to others who have not purchased the item should still be illegal. Making a copy of a copyrighted material to prove that an encryption process was faulty, and then explaining in a public forum how it was defective, should not be illegal. There should be no point in the legislation where phrases like "in general" or "unless otherwise stated" are used. Be specific about blatant copyright legalities. Don't make someone prove that they DIDN'T break the law. After all, people should be considered innocent before being proven guilty.
In summary, don't turn the Consultation Paper on Digital Copyright Issues (CPCDI) into a Canadian draft of the faulty American Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). We should not make the same mistakes that the U.S. has made. We've seen what has happened with their legislation, with such examples as Felten v RIAA ( http://www.eff.org/Legal/Cases/Felten_v_RIAA/ ), Universal v Reimerdes ( http://www.eff.org/IP/Video/MPAA_DVD_cases/ ) and the recent case of US v Sklyarov ( http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/US_v_Sklyarov/ ). As a Canadian citizen who is a software designer and avid computer user, I ask that you reconsider the contents of the CPCDI.
Sincerely,
Graham Hudson
(address removed)
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