ARCHIVED — Ben Pearre
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COPYRIGHT REFORM PROCESS
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Submission from Ben Pearre received on September 12, 2001 via e-mail
Subject: Comments - Government of Canada Copyright Reform
I am writing to express my fear that Canada will adopt the CPCDI. As a Canadian living in the USA, I have seen the effect that the DMCA has had on scientific research here.I majored in Computer Science at Princeton and my thesis advisor was Ed Felten - the man who conducted research related to the SDMI encryption system, but was legally harassed and threatened into not presenting his results to other scientists at a research symposium. As his advisee I know that the quality and integrity of his work were first-rate, and the fact that certain corporations should use this law to stifle legitimate research is horrifying. Does Canada want to walk down that road?
You've received many other reasons why the DMCA is better left in the USA where it won't harm Canadians (already some countries have warned their scientists not to travel to the USA for fear of arrest), so I won't go into too much more detail. I'll just mention that the law was created by corporations, and will benefit them at the expense of the people. The government exists to protect the weak and honest from the strong and greedy, and in the US this system is becoming only a memory: corporations control the law here to the great detriment of the people's rights to education, research, communication, fair use, and free speech. Copyright protection is important, but the laws already in place are strong enough.
I like to think that I will return to Canada when my Ph.D. is complete, or even before then, because Canada is still the best country I know of. Don't blindly follow the mistakes of the USA.
Sincerely,
Ben Pearre
(Address removed)
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