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http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/10/07/tech-conservatives.html
I don't post much about copyright and intellectual property issues, but I do deal with them often in my day job.
Here the Cons are categorically promising to "re-introduce" (i.e. ram through sideways in the nastiest, spikiest way) their copyright bill, which by many accounts was dictated to the Minister of Industry by American entertainment industry lobbyists and drafted on the back of a cocktail napkin. The implications of this legislation for education are dire.
What kind of party deliberately dredges up an issue that aroused such public dissent, not once but TWICE in the last ten months, then nails it into its party platform? (A platform, I might add, that was published six and a half days before the nation goes to the polls, is only 41 pages in large type and contains numerous large colour photographs of Stephen Harper.)
One that figures it can get along without the support of "consumer advocates, artists, privacy watchdogs, education groups and other businesses", I suppose - I guess they figured the 92,000 people in that Facebook group (or their friends, or other people they might be talking to)
weren't going to vote for them anyway.
***
Conservatives pledge to reintroduce copyright reform
Last Updated: Tuesday, October 7, 2008 | 5:42 PM ET Comments0Recommend0By Peter Nowak CBC News
Stephen Harper's Conservatives saw their proposed copyright reform die on the order paper when the election was called. (Tom Hanson/Canadian Press)The Conservatives are promising to reintroduce controversial copyright-reform legislation if they are re-elected, according to the party's official platform released on Tuesday.
"A re-elected Conservative government led by Stephen Harper will reintroduce federal copyright legislation that strikes the appropriate balance among the rights of musicians, artists, programmers and other creators and brings Canada's intellectual property protection in line with that of other industrialized countries, but also protects consumers who want to access copyright works for their personal use," the platform document says.
"We will also introduce tougher laws on counterfeiting and piracy and give our customs and law enforcement services the resources to enforce them. This will protect consumers from phoney and sometimes dangerous products that are passed off as reliable brand-name goods."
The Conservatives' previous copyright-reform legislation, Bill C-61, which died on the order paper when the election was called, was released in June to a wave of criticism. While a number of organizations that represent copyright holders, such as the Canadian Recording Industry Association and the Entertainment Software Association of Canada, praised the plan, it was roundly criticized as unfair by consumer advocates, artists, privacy watchdogs, education groups and other businesses.
The legislation proposed hefty fines for people caught downloading copyrighted materials but also made it illegal for consumers to work around locks — known as digital rights management — placed on media.
Minister of Industry Jim Prentice said the reforms struck a balance between the needs of copyright holders and consumers, but critics said a number of loopholes, particularly the digital locks provision, skewed the rules heavily against average Canadians.
"There's a fine line between protecting creators and a police state," Liberal industry critic Scott Brison told CBCNews.ca at the time.
Prentice was also criticized for not consulting consumer groups in drafting the legislation and was accused of caving to lobbying by the U.S. entertainment industry.
The Conservatives had planned to introduce the proposed legislation last December but backed off after its purported details were leaked. A protest group on social-networking website Facebook, started by University of Ottawa internet law professor Michael Geist, drew tens of thousands of members within days of launching, forcing Prentice to retreat.
On his website two weeks ago, Geist challenged election candidates to sign on to a pledge dedicated to consulting Canadians in drafting new legislation and in supporting balanced copyright reform. As of Tuesday, the entire Green Party, one-third of the NDP and about 15 Liberal candidates had signed on.
Geist reiterated on his blog on Tuesday that the Conservatives' approach to copyright reform is not balanced, a view shared by the more than 92,000 members of his Facebook group.
"Bill C-61 did not strike the appropriate balance and tens of thousands of Canadians told Harper just that over the summer," he wrote.
[snip]
***
I don't post much about copyright and intellectual property issues, but I do deal with them often in my day job.
Here the Cons are categorically promising to "re-introduce" (i.e. ram through sideways in the nastiest, spikiest way) their copyright bill, which by many accounts was dictated to the Minister of Industry by American entertainment industry lobbyists and drafted on the back of a cocktail napkin. The implications of this legislation for education are dire.
What kind of party deliberately dredges up an issue that aroused such public dissent, not once but TWICE in the last ten months, then nails it into its party platform? (A platform, I might add, that was published six and a half days before the nation goes to the polls, is only 41 pages in large type and contains numerous large colour photographs of Stephen Harper.)
One that figures it can get along without the support of "consumer advocates, artists, privacy watchdogs, education groups and other businesses", I suppose - I guess they figured the 92,000 people in that Facebook group (or their friends, or other people they might be talking to)
weren't going to vote for them anyway.
***
Conservatives pledge to reintroduce copyright reform
Last Updated: Tuesday, October 7, 2008 | 5:42 PM ET Comments0Recommend0By Peter Nowak CBC News
Stephen Harper's Conservatives saw their proposed copyright reform die on the order paper when the election was called. (Tom Hanson/Canadian Press)The Conservatives are promising to reintroduce controversial copyright-reform legislation if they are re-elected, according to the party's official platform released on Tuesday.
"A re-elected Conservative government led by Stephen Harper will reintroduce federal copyright legislation that strikes the appropriate balance among the rights of musicians, artists, programmers and other creators and brings Canada's intellectual property protection in line with that of other industrialized countries, but also protects consumers who want to access copyright works for their personal use," the platform document says.
"We will also introduce tougher laws on counterfeiting and piracy and give our customs and law enforcement services the resources to enforce them. This will protect consumers from phoney and sometimes dangerous products that are passed off as reliable brand-name goods."
The Conservatives' previous copyright-reform legislation, Bill C-61, which died on the order paper when the election was called, was released in June to a wave of criticism. While a number of organizations that represent copyright holders, such as the Canadian Recording Industry Association and the Entertainment Software Association of Canada, praised the plan, it was roundly criticized as unfair by consumer advocates, artists, privacy watchdogs, education groups and other businesses.
The legislation proposed hefty fines for people caught downloading copyrighted materials but also made it illegal for consumers to work around locks — known as digital rights management — placed on media.
Minister of Industry Jim Prentice said the reforms struck a balance between the needs of copyright holders and consumers, but critics said a number of loopholes, particularly the digital locks provision, skewed the rules heavily against average Canadians.
"There's a fine line between protecting creators and a police state," Liberal industry critic Scott Brison told CBCNews.ca at the time.
Prentice was also criticized for not consulting consumer groups in drafting the legislation and was accused of caving to lobbying by the U.S. entertainment industry.
The Conservatives had planned to introduce the proposed legislation last December but backed off after its purported details were leaked. A protest group on social-networking website Facebook, started by University of Ottawa internet law professor Michael Geist, drew tens of thousands of members within days of launching, forcing Prentice to retreat.
On his website two weeks ago, Geist challenged election candidates to sign on to a pledge dedicated to consulting Canadians in drafting new legislation and in supporting balanced copyright reform. As of Tuesday, the entire Green Party, one-third of the NDP and about 15 Liberal candidates had signed on.
Geist reiterated on his blog on Tuesday that the Conservatives' approach to copyright reform is not balanced, a view shared by the more than 92,000 members of his Facebook group.
"Bill C-61 did not strike the appropriate balance and tens of thousands of Canadians told Harper just that over the summer," he wrote.
[snip]
***
