Backblog | Copyright

Last week Rogers advised the CRTC that it plans to drop Internet throttling for all customers by the end of the year.

Canadian superstar Neil Young on piracy:

It doesn't affect me because I look at the internet as the new radio. I look at the radio as gone. [...] Piracy is the new radio. That's how music gets around. [...] That's the radio. If you really want to hear it, let's make it available, let them hear it, let them hear the 95 percent of it.

The reports that the music industry lobby (along with the Entertainment Software Association of Canada and the movie lobby) is seeking the inclusion of SOPA-style provisions into Bill C-11 has generated considerable discussion online and in the mainstream media (CBC, Financial Post). Yesterday, Balanced Copyright for Canada, the group backed by the music industry, fired back with several tweets claiming that opposing their reforms would benefit "illegal BitTorrent sites"and "illegal hosting sites."

For many years, the most prominent critic of the Canadian online music market has been the industry itself. The Canadian Recording Industry Association (now known as Music Canada) has consistently argued that few would want to invest in Canada due to the state of our copyright laws.

For journalists, bloggers and techies alike, last week passed in a whirlwind of headlines covering the controversy surrounding SOPA, the proposed anti-piracy legislation in the U.S. Some of the powerful language used to characterize the dispute? Protest, blackout, fear and censorship, to name but a few. Some of the bill's opponents, namely Mashable's editor-in-chief Lance Ulanoff, have declared that the passing of SOPA, if it were to occur, would be a regression into the "Dark Ages".

My post this week on the behind-the-scenes demands to make Bill C-11, the current copyright bill, more like SOPA has attracted considerable attention with mainstream (National Post, La Presse) and online media (Mashable, Wire Report) covering the story. The music industry alone is seeking over a dozen changes to the bill, including website blocking, Internet termination for alleged repeat infringers, and an expansion of the "enabler" provision that is supposedly designed to target pirate sites. Meanwhile, the Entertainment Software Association of Canada also wants an expansion of the enabler provision along with further tightening of the already-restrictive digital lock rules.

The music industry may be ailing, but the emphasis placed by some on copyright reform may not be the answer. Michael Geist, speaking at the 2011 Nova Scotia Music Week, elaborates on reasons why.

For most of the past hundred years, the Supreme Court of Canada heard the occasional copyright case with significant cases popping up once every ten or twenty years. That started to change in 2001 with a big case reaching Canada's top court every year or two. While that seemed like a busy schedule, it is nothing compared to the coming week, where the court will hear an unprecedented five copyright cases over the course of two packed days.

Earlier this week, I was at a public lecture given by Carolyn Hank, an information professor at McGill University, on archiving considerations for blogs. Archiving isn't a topic that stirs many people's interest (no offense to my archivist friends), let alone those in the notoriously now-oriented world of digital media.

Napster Canada has advised its customers that it is shutting down operations effective December 16, 2011. The move comes weeks after Napster US became part of Rhapsody and users were assured that Canadians would be unaffected by the move.

Earlier this month I appeared before the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology, which is conducting a study on the e-commerce market in Canada. A transcript of the hearing is available here and audio of the hearing here.  My prepared opening remarks are posted below. The discussion that followed touched a wide range of issues including copyright reform and competitiveness in the wireless and broadband sectors.

Copyright dominated debate at the House of Commons on Tuesday as Bill C-11 was the primary subject of debate. Digital locks was one of the most discussed issues (new levies were the other), with the main opposition parties lining up to oppose the bill due to the digital lock provisions.

As debate on Bill C-11 kicks off today, the Liberals have staked out their position, announcing their opposition to the bill due to the digital lock provisions. Industry critic Geoff Regan states:

Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore recently granted TVO's Search Engine an interview on Bill C-11 and Canadian copyright reform. The interview demonstrates yet again that Moore is one of the government's most skilled ministers - he knows the copyright file and is able to actively debate its merits. Yet the interview raised several points worth challenging.

Later today, the government will table Bill C-11, the latest iteration of the Canadian copyright reform bill that mirrors the previous Bill C-32. It was widely reported this fall that the government would reintroduce the previous bill unchanged, re-start committee hearings where they left off in March (with prior witnesses not asked to return), and move to quickly get the bill passed by the end of the calendar year. That seems to be what is happening with today's tabling and a new legislative committee to follow.

File sharing lawsuits involving the movie the Hurt Locker have been big news in the United States for months as tens of thousands of lawsuits have been filed against individuals alleged to have illegally downloaded the movie. The lawsuits have now made their way into Canada as the Federal Court of Canada has ordered the identification of subscribers at Bell Canada, Cogeco, and Videotron who face similar copyright infringement claims.

Copyright, U.S. lobbying, and the stunning backroom Canadian response gets front page news treatment today as the Toronto Star runs my story on new revelations on copyright from the U.S. cables released by Wikileaks.

Stingray today launches a new online Canadian music service having addressed the major issue keeping services out of the country - the high cost of licensing.

Apple has once again captured the attention of the Internet world with the unveiling of the iCloud, an online backup system that will allow users to instantly store their content on Apple computer servers so that they can be accessed anywhere from any device.

With the new Parliamentary session set to kick off today [June 2, 2011] with the election of a new speaker, new cabinet members are busy brushing up on the myriad of issues they will face in the coming months. The appointment to cabinet comes with a private mandate letter from the Prime Minister that sets out his expectations and policy goals.

During the most recent election campaign, there was no shortage of debate over the so-called iPod Tax, a proposed levy on iPods and similar devices to compensate for copies of sound recordings. While the prospect of an iPod tax in Canada died with the Conservative majority, the existing private copying system remains unchanged.

Last night's election results have left many online speculating about the future of digital policies in Canada. I think it is hard to project precisely what will happen - we don't even know for certain whether Tony Clement and James Moore will remain in their portfolios or move elsewhere (there are a fair number of open cabinet positions which could mean changes). Assuming they stay the course, however, the Conservative positions on digital policies are strong in a number of areas.

Later today, it appears certain that the government will lose a non-confidence motion, spelling the end to the current Parliament and sending Canada into yet another election. There have been some legislative and policy successes since 2008 including the Anti-Spam law (C-28), a law involving ISPs and child pornography (C-22), and the recent launch of open government and open data initiatives.

Yesterday I blogged about how the Canadian Recording Industry Association has broken with creator groups and the Canadian Independent Music Association on the issue of an iPod levy.  While the creator groups continue to express their support for the levy, CRIA's Graham Henderson told government officials on September 27, 2010 that he disagreed "with some creator groups who are advocating for an associated levy on digital media storage devices."