http://www.libertyvoice.net Freedom and internet Thu, 09 Sep 2010 21:09:06 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 http://www.libertyvoice.net/2010-06/third-time-the-charm-canada-tries-new-copyright-bill-again/ http://www.libertyvoice.net/2010-06/third-time-the-charm-canada-tries-new-copyright-bill-again/#comments Thu, 03 Jun 2010 08:27:06 +0000 Ben Jones http://torrentfreak.com/?p=24372 month ago, a new Bill was about to be rammed through Canada's Parliament, and on Wednesday it was announced. It is, like its two predecessors, mostly a collection of stricter enforcement rules with an occasional benefit to consumers thrown in, almost as an afterthought.]]> http://www.libertyvoice.net/2010-06/third-time-the-charm-canada-tries-new-copyright-bill-again/feed/ 0 http://www.libertyvoice.net/2010-05/piracy-haven-label-case-of-rhetoric-over-reality/ http://www.libertyvoice.net/2010-05/piracy-haven-label-case-of-rhetoric-over-reality/#comments Mon, 10 May 2010 13:56:52 +0000 Michael Geist http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/5023/135/
My weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) considers the intensive lobbying effort on promised intellectual property reform.  In recent weeks, those efforts have escalated dramatically, with most activities taking place in plain view. Scarcely a week goes by without a major event occurring - last week it was a reception sponsored by the Canadian Private Copying Collective, the week before an event hosted by the Entertainment Software Association of Canada, and the week before that the Juno Awards attended by several cabinet ministers and MPs.

Even more open is the public campaign designed to persuade Canadians that their country is a piracy haven.  Late last month, the IFPI, which represents the global recording industry, released its annual Recording Industry in Numbers report that tracks global record sales.  The report targeted two countries - Canada and Spain - for declining sales and linked those declines to copyright law.  Not coincidentally, both countries are currently working on legal reforms.


The IFPI release succeeded in generating attention, but a closer look reveals that it put the spotlight on the wrong country.  Canadian sales declined 7.4 per cent last year.  That was bad news, but nearly identical to the global average of 7.2 per cent.  Moreover, the declines were far larger in both the United States (10.7 per cent) and Japan (10.8 per cent), yet neither of those countries was described in similarly negative terms.

The same week the U.S. government chimed in with its annual Special 301 report.  Often described as the global piracy list, the U.S. chose to lump Canada together with countries such as China and Russia as allegedly among the world's worst intellectual property offenders.

Rather than embarrassing Canadians, the list itself is increasingly viewed as the embarrassment.  This year's report ignored a submission from the world's largest technology and Internet companies (including Microsoft, Google, T-Mobile, Fujitsu, AMD, eBay, Intuit, Oracle, and Yahoo), which argued that it is completely inappropriate to place Canada on the list.

Moreover, the data suggests Canada is a leader, not a laggard. According to the software industry's own piracy numbers, Canada's piracy rate is declining and is dramatically lower than any other country on the priority watch list.  In fact, the Business Software Alliance has characterized Canada as a "low piracy country."

The news is similar with respect to movie piracy, where the motion picture industry has acknowledged that incidents of illegal camcording have dropped in Canada as the country is one of few in the world with criminal convictions for such activities.

The government has taken further action in recent months to combat infringement.  Although a new copyright bill is still a few weeks away, Canada recently amended its Proceeds of Crime regulations by removing the Copyright Act from the list.  Copyright lobby groups had requested the change to facilitate legal action against infringers.

While there remains further room for improvement, claims that Canada is a piracy haven are based largely on fiction rather than fact.  But with a major bill only weeks away, this form of lobbying seems certain to continue.]]> http://www.libertyvoice.net/2010-05/piracy-haven-label-case-of-rhetoric-over-reality/feed/ 0 http://www.libertyvoice.net/2010-05/canada-fast-tracks-draconian-anti-piracy-law/ http://www.libertyvoice.net/2010-05/canada-fast-tracks-draconian-anti-piracy-law/#comments Thu, 06 May 2010 17:33:28 +0000 Ernesto http://torrentfreak.com/?p=23651 http://www.libertyvoice.net/2010-05/canada-fast-tracks-draconian-anti-piracy-law/feed/ 0 http://www.libertyvoice.net/2010-05/european-parliament-passes-resolution-calling-on-canada-to-support-moving-acta-to-wipo/ http://www.libertyvoice.net/2010-05/european-parliament-passes-resolution-calling-on-canada-to-support-moving-acta-to-wipo/#comments Thu, 06 May 2010 14:18:57 +0000 Michael Geist http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/5012/125/ resolution that calls on Canada to support even greater ACTA transparency and to shift the negotiations to an international organization such as WIPO.  The full paragraph within the resolution states that the European Parliament:

Hopes that Canada will fully support the EU's request to open up the ACTA negotiations to public scrutiny, as it requested in its resolution of 10 March 2010, and to have those negotiations conducted under the auspices of an international organisation, the most suitable being WIPO;

In the aftermath of its success in promoting release of the ACTA draft text, it is interesting to see the European Parliament becoming increasingly vocal about the ACTA negotiations.  Canada has remained generally silent on these issues and the EP resolution may help coax out a response.
]]> http://www.libertyvoice.net/2010-05/european-parliament-passes-resolution-calling-on-canada-to-support-moving-acta-to-wipo/feed/ 0 http://www.libertyvoice.net/2010-04/ustrs-bully-report-unfairly-blames-canada-again/ http://www.libertyvoice.net/2010-04/ustrs-bully-report-unfairly-blames-canada-again/#comments Fri, 30 Apr 2010 10:56:56 +0000 Michael Geist http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/4997/125/ Special 301 report in which it purports to identify those countries with inadequate intellectual property laws.  Given the recent history and the way in which the list is developed, it will come as no surprise that the U.S. is again implausibly claiming that Canada is among the worst of the worst.  As a starting point, it should be noted that the Canadian government does not take this exercise particularly seriously.  As an official with the Department of Foreign Affairs once told a House of Commons committee:

In regard to the watch list, Canada does not recognize the 301 watch list process. It basically lacks reliable and objective analysis. It's driven entirely by U.S. industry. We have repeatedly raised this issue of the lack of objective analysis in the 301 watch list process with our U.S. counterparts.

This year's report is particularly embarrassing for the U.S. since it not only lacks in credible data, but ignores the submission from CCIA (which represents some of the world's largest technology and Internet companies including Microsoft, Google, T-Mobile, Fujitsu, AMD, eBay, Intuit, Oracle, and Yahoo) that argued that it is completely inappropriate to place Canada on the list.  The technology giants reminded the USTR that "Canada’s current copyright law and practice clearly satisfy the statutory 'adequate and effective' standard. Indeed, in a number respects, Canada's laws are more protective of creators than those of the United States."

With respect to the actual data, the USTR report is largely rhetoric rather than reality.  The reality is:

• According to the software industry's own piracy numbers, Canada rate is declining and is dramatically lower than any other country on the priority watch list.  Moreover, even the Business Software Alliance has characterized Canada as a "low piracy country."
  
• According the recording industry's own numbers, the Canadian recording industry did not decline last year as badly as the U.S. or Japan and it ranked well ahead of the global average for digital music sales growth.
• According to the motion picture industry, illegal camcording has declined rapidly in Canada in recent years.  Canada is one of the only countries in the world with criminal convictions for such activities.
• Last year Canada amended its Proceeds of Crime regulations by removing the Copyright Act from the list.  The change had been requested by copyright lobby groups.
  
• Canada is often characterized as a prominent home for BitTorrent sites, yet there are more sites hosted in European countries such as the Netherlands but it is not included on the list.
• Canada is the only participant in the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement to be named to the Priority Watch List.  Apparently, our involvement in those talks counts for little.
  
• Comparative analysis of U.S. and Canadian copyright law identifies numerous areas where Canada's copyright laws are stronger than those found in the U.S.
  
• The RCMP has prioritized intellectual property enforcement and conducted thousands of investigations in recent years.
  
• Canadian enforcement measures include a host of other provisions that are not found in many countries that do not make the USTR list, such as statutory damages and anti-camcording rules.

Looking beyond just Canada, the list is so large, that it is rendered meaningless.  According to the report, approximately 4.3 billion people live in countries without effective intellectual property protection.  Since the report does not include any African countries outside of North Africa, the U.S. is effectively saying that only a small percentage of the world meet its standard for IP protection.  Canada is not outlier, it's in good company with the fastest growing economies in the world (the BRIC countries are there) and European countries like Norway, Italy, and Spain. 

In other words, the embarrassment is not Canadian law.  Rather, the embarrassment falls on the U.S. for promoting this bullying exercise and on the Canadian copyright lobby groups who seemingly welcome the chance to criticize their own country.]]> http://www.libertyvoice.net/2010-04/ustrs-bully-report-unfairly-blames-canada-again/feed/ 0 http://www.libertyvoice.net/2010-04/ifpi-calls-out-the-wrong-country/ http://www.libertyvoice.net/2010-04/ifpi-calls-out-the-wrong-country/#comments Fri, 30 Apr 2010 06:27:37 +0000 Michael Geist http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/4996/125/ release, it chose to target two countries - Canada and Spain - for declining sales and linked those declines to copyright law.  As it no doubt intended, the IFPI release succeeded in generating media coverage, including two Globe and Mail stories (here and here) that dutifully reported that Canada was perceived a piracy haven and was being criticized (again) by the global recording industry.

Yet it doesn't take much digging to see that the IFPI targeted the wrong country. Canadian sales declined by 7.4 percent last year.  That is obviously bad news for the industry, but it is almost identical to the global average of 7.2 percent.  In other words, far from a piracy outlier, Canada was actually consistent with declines around the world.  Moreover, while the IFPI chose to target Canada, the reality is the declines were far bigger in the United States (10.7 percent) and Japan (10.8 percent) yet neither country is described as a piracy haven. The IFPI data also shows that Canada was ahead of the curve on digital music sales growth. Canadian digital sales grew by 38 percent last year, while globally the number was 9.2 percent (the U.S. grew at 8 percent, below the global average).

Of course, none of these data points helped advance the agenda of painting Canada as a piracy haven, so they are conveniently ignored.  Look for more of the same later today when the U.S. government releases it annual Special 301 report and implausibly claims that Canada is one of the world's worst copyright outlaws.
]]> http://www.libertyvoice.net/2010-04/ifpi-calls-out-the-wrong-country/feed/ 0 http://www.libertyvoice.net/2010-04/pirate-party-of-canada-receives-official-party-status/ http://www.libertyvoice.net/2010-04/pirate-party-of-canada-receives-official-party-status/#comments Tue, 27 Apr 2010 06:15:32 +0000 Michael Geist http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/4983/196/ reports that Pirate Party of Canada has received official party status. 
]]> http://www.libertyvoice.net/2010-04/pirate-party-of-canada-receives-official-party-status/feed/ 0 http://www.libertyvoice.net/2010-04/lawyer-claims-torrentfreak-abused-canadian-democracy/ http://www.libertyvoice.net/2010-04/lawyer-claims-torrentfreak-abused-canadian-democracy/#comments Tue, 20 Apr 2010 17:57:59 +0000 Ernesto http://torrentfreak.com/?p=23274 http://www.libertyvoice.net/2010-04/lawyer-claims-torrentfreak-abused-canadian-democracy/feed/ 0 http://www.libertyvoice.net/2010-03/australian-officials-borrow-us-rhetoric-on-canadian-copyright/ http://www.libertyvoice.net/2010-03/australian-officials-borrow-us-rhetoric-on-canadian-copyright/#comments Wed, 03 Mar 2010 05:40:32 +0000 Michael Geist http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/4837/196/ reports on a recent conversation with Australian government officials discussing ACTA and copyright related issues.  The report indicates that Australia - which changed its copyright laws under pressure from the U.S. as part of a trade deal - now borrows from the U.S. playbook in criticizing the current state of Canadian law.
]]> http://www.libertyvoice.net/2010-03/australian-officials-borrow-us-rhetoric-on-canadian-copyright/feed/ 0 http://www.libertyvoice.net/2010-03/canada-vs-new-zealand-at-the-acta-talks/ http://www.libertyvoice.net/2010-03/canada-vs-new-zealand-at-the-acta-talks/#comments Tue, 02 Mar 2010 07:46:59 +0000 Michael Geist http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/4833/125/ ACTA leak that provides full detail on each country's negotiation position attracted immediate media attention, with the New Zealand press picking up on the story (and that country's tough position), while the Australian press lamented their country's relative silence at the negotiation table.  And what of Canada?  The Canadian positions on the Internet chapter culled from the EU leaked document are:

• expresses concern with the disparity between the section title and the scope of content of the section
• seeks clarification of the scope of "related rights" in provision dealing with a general enforcement obligation. Argues that it should be consistent with the Criminal and Civil Enforcement chapters
• concerns with a footnote on third party liability that seeks to define its scope.  Canada notes that the footnote effectively changes the meaning of the main text.
• seeks more information on the scope of "modification" to the content in a provision on online service providers
• notes that the relationship between third party liability and ISP limitation on liability is unclear
• seeks clarification of the relationship of anti-circumvention exceptions to access control measures

That's it.  Compare the Canadian focus on clarifications of legal language and hints at opposition with the far-tougher, more explicit New Zealand positions:

• on the preamble: "the words 'in order to facilitate the continued development of an industry engaging in providing information services online' provide an interpretative gloss on Article 2.17.3 which appears to go beyond the general aim of ACTA to provide a framework for the enforcement of intellectual property rights
• on safe harbours: "we understand [Paragraph (a)(iii) covers information location tools such as search engines.  It is not clear how the provision or use of information location tools breaches copyright, or why third party liability should arise for the provision of such tools.  We would welcome further explanation on the need to provide such a safe harbour."
• on establishing a policy that could lead to three strikes: "New Zealand does not support the inclusion of this condition.  New Zealand can, however, support the inclusion of a provision aimed at preventing a party to ACTA conditioning safe harbours on an online service provider "monitoring its services or affirmatively seeking facts indicating that infringing activity is occurring."
• on anti-circumvention rules: "The paragraphs refer to 'adequate legal protection' as well as remedies, which is inconsistent [with] the objective of ACTA to establish standards for the enforcement of intellectual property rights and the ACTA discussion paper. In particular, we note that the discussion paper only refers to parties providing 'remedies against circumvention of technological protection measures used by copyright owners and the trafficking of circumvention devices."  New Zealand does not support protection being mandated against circumvention of TPMs where the underlyig work is not protected by copyright.  In particular, we do not support protection against circumvention of access control TPMs because access control is not an exclusive right given to copyright owners."
• on rights management information: New Zealand does not support the protection of RMIs extending to information that identifies a performance, the performer of the performance, the owner of any right in the performance, or the producer of a phonogram."

Why is the Canadian delegation content to say virtually nothing and leave it to New Zealand to take the strongest position on these ACTA issues?  Why does Canada not join with New Zealand to present a stronger front against the extension of ACTA far beyond copyright enforcement?]]> http://www.libertyvoice.net/2010-03/canada-vs-new-zealand-at-the-acta-talks/feed/ 0