ARCHIVED — Andrew Hanlon
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Submission from Andrew Hanlon received on September 14, 2001 via e-mail
Subject: Opposition against the proposed changes to Canada's copyright laws.
Hello,
Recently I learned of the proposed changes to Canada's copyright laws, and quite frankly I must say that as a nation, Canada can not implement these changes or risk destroying the nurturing and open intelectual community, flurishing in Canada today. Although from what I have read the government is trying to dismiss afermentioned comparisons, it is difficult not to see that these new laws highly resemble those of the united states DMCA; laws that as we speak are deteriorating the very essance of their third amendment. I am all for protecting the rights of creators and inventors, but I believe there is a lot to learn before implementing any new laws about copyrights. Take my situation for example. I not only live by, but also make a living using the open source operating system known as Linux. It is created by many people working not for money but to improve there lives and more. What would happen if copyrights became so strigent that free software became a taboo? Many people would lose there livelyhood and livelyway.
I also understand that in the near future there will have to be some changes made to our laws, here in Canada. But if I could make a suggestion, I would ask that our government holdoff a year or two and wait for the outcome of some of the more prominent cases against the DMCA, such as the Dimitry Sklarov case and the DeCSS case, before making a decision. Above all, what I wish to ask is that our government not rush into this as there is far more at stake than just copyright infringement.
Your Truly,
Andrew Hanlon
(address removed)
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