Canada eyes $500 fine for illegal downloads

[Gary D]

Tories eye $500 fine for illegal downloads

The federal Conservatives are set to introduce new copyright legislation as soon as this week that will include provisions to target users with a $500 fine for all illegal files transferred online, a move that legal experts say could see Canadians sued for hundreds of thousands of dollars if found guilty of infringement.

Now is the time to get involved! It looks like the government will try the back door route again.

If you are Canadian and a member of facebook, then please join this group: Fair Copyright for Canada

Six months after this group played a key role in convincing the Canadian government to delay the introduction of the Canadian DMCA, it would appear that the legislation is back. Sources say that a Canadian DMCA will be introduced before the summer break – likely in the last week of May or the first week of June.

There will be considerable work in the weeks and months ahead. The starting point, however, is to write immediately to Industry Minister Jim Prentice and your local MP to let them know that Canadians won’t be deceived by attempts to tinker with a few new consumer rights while leaving the DMCA provisions intact. A quick email or letter (no stamp needed) is all it takes:

Industry Minister Jim Prentice - Prentice.J@parl.gc.ca, Minister.Industry@ic.gc.ca

Prime Minister Stephen Harper - pm@pm.gc.ca

Finding Your Local MP -

More details on the government’s plans at http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/2942/125/

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It WILL be TOO late after the fact!

[Gary D]

Copyright bill faces obstacles

Copyright bill faces obstacles

TORONTO and OTTAWA — The federal government is on the verge of tabling new copyright legislation, but already sources in Ottawa say there is little chance the proposed changes will be passed under a minority government.

Industry Minister Jim Prentice told ...

[Gary D]

Brief Biography

Dr. Michael Geist is a law professor at the University of Ottawa where he holds the Canada Research Chair of Internet and E-commerce Law. He has obtained a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree from Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, Master of Laws (LL.M.) degrees from Cambridge University in the UK and Columbia Law School in New York, and a Doctorate in Law (J.S.D.) from Columbia Law School.

Dr. Geist has written numerous academic articles and government reports on the Internet and law and is a columnist on technology law issues that regularly appears in the Toronto Star, Ottawa Citizen, Vancouver Sun, and BBC. He is the creator and consulting editor of BNA's Internet Law News, a daily Internet law news service, editor of the monthly newsletters, Internet and E-commerce Law in Canada and the Canadian Privacy Law Review (Butterworths), the founder of the Ontario Research Network for E-commerce, on the advisory boards of several leading Internet law publications including Electronic Commerce & Law Report (BNA), the Journal of Internet Law (Aspen) and Internet Law and Business (Computer Law Reporter). He is the author of the textbook Internet Law in Canada (Captus Press) which is now in its third edition, and the editor of In the Public Interest: The Future of Canadian Copyright Law, published in 2005 by Irwin Law.

Dr. Geist serves on the Privacy Commissioner of Canada’s Expert Advisory Board and maintains privacyinfo.ca, a leading privacy law resource. His work has been recognized with several important awards including the 2008 Electronic Frontier Foundation Pioneer Award, the 2003 Public Leadership Award from Canarie for his contribution to the Internet in Canada, and the 2002 Canadian Association of Law Teachers Scholarly Paper Award. In 2003, he was named one of Canada Top 40 Under 40.

Dr. Geist has served on the director and advisory boards of several Internet and IT law organizations including spending six years on the board of the Canadian Internet Registration Authority, the dot-ca administrative agency, and three years with the Public Interest Registry , which manages the dot-org domain. He currently serves on the Open Society Institute's Information Program Sub-Board, was a member of Canada’s National Task Force on Spam, and the former chair of a global Internet jurisdiction project for the American Bar Association and International Chamber of Commerce. He is regularly quoted in the national and international media on Internet law issues and has appeared before many government committees on copyright, telecom, privacy, and e-commerce policy.

http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/3029/125/

The Canadian DMCA: A Betrayal

Friday June 13, 2008
Having had a few more hours to think about Industry Minister Jim Prentice's Canadian DMCA, I am left with one dominant feeling - betrayal. I have already highlighted the key provisions and coverage (and note that it will take some time to fully assess the implications of this bill) but it is immediately apparent that the concerns of thousands of Canadians - now over 45,000 on the Fair Copyright for Canada Facebook group alone - have been realized. If enacted, the Canadian DMCA would strongly encourage the use of technological locks and lawsuits. While Prentice has given a handful of new rights to Canadian consumers, each is subject to many limitations and undermined by the digital locks provisions that may effectively render the new rights meaningless.

So why is it a betrayal?
Because in a country whose Supreme Court of Canada has emphasized the importance of balance between creators rights and user rights, ...

[doctorhardware]

Damm that is a stiff fine. I have to put a data logger on the son's computer in order to make sure that he is not downloading anything that is not legal to download.

[admin]

Copyright legislation hard to enforce: police

Copyright bill protests surge online