ARCHIVED — Sarah Walkowiak
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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 Sarah Walkowiak received on September 12, 2001 via e-mail
Subject: CPCDI Concerns
To Industry Canada, the Department of Canadian Heritage, the Intellectual Property Policy Directorate and other concerned agencies:I am deeply concerned about the proposed Consultation Paper on Digital Copyright Issues (CPCDI). This document is modeled after the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) already underway in the United States. When the DMCA was first proposed, it's intentions were good, to protect copyright holders and their content from being distributed freely and without compensation. However, the *implementation* of the DMCA has fared poorly.
Now, copyright holders of digital content have far too much power, beyond traditional copyright laws. Academic institutions and individual citizens are being treated as though they are criminals for what was formerly considered to be a fair use of copyright. (I work in a university and have seen many of these issues unfold before my eyes. Many professors are now afraid to teach from certain materials due to copyright restrictions. Technological advances in education are halted for fear of repercussion, where they would provide advantages to many students.)
The DMCA has curtailed much of the freedom of expression that this country so greatly values, among technology and scientific professionals, including the arrest of Russian programmer Dimitri Skylarov.
The extreme intellectual property provisions of the CPDCI should be changed. Please take a lesson from the mistakes of the DMCA. Copyright and copyright holders should be protected, but not at the expense of individuals and basic human freedoms. As we have seen over the last few days, freedom is very precious and should not be jeopardized or taken for granted.
Sincerely,
Sarah Walkowiak
(Address removed)
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