Leaks show U.S. swayed Canada on copyright bill

[SoylentGreen]

Leaks show U.S. swayed Canada on copyright bill

"Secret U.S. government cables show a stunning willingness by senior Canadian officials to appease American demands for a U.S.-style copyright law here.
 
The documents describe Canadian officials as encouraging American lobbying efforts. They also cite cabinet minister Maxime Bernier raising the possibility of showing U.S. officials a draft bill before tabling it in Parliament.
 
The cables, from the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa, even have a policy director for then industry minister Tony Clement suggesting it might help U.S. demands for a tough copyright law if Canada were placed among the worst offenders on an international piracy watch list. Days later, the U.S. placed Canada alongside China and Russia on the list..."


"...The Canadian bill died when the May 2 election was called. A new copyright bill is expected to be introduced when Parliament resumes. Judging by past willingness to bow to U.S. pressure, few will be surprised if it mirrors the 2010 effort."


Read more:

http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1048993


S.G.

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

imagine that Lobbyists are involved...once again it's all about money, right and wrong doesn't seem to fit into any equation anymore..

[Canada Bob]

Apparently, the cap for copyright lawsuits in Canada will now be $5000, though only in non-commercial cases:

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/business/Comment+will+like+copyright+laws+everyone+should+happy/5479888/story.html

http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Conservative+government+debate+revamping+Canada+copyright/5477640/story.html

[SoylentGreen]

The Bill C-11 is not law as yet.  This will be the third try to pass the bill into law.

The $5000 cap would be good news; could we see caps on other infringements?
One could also argue that in the US, the Righthaven fiasco shows that a cap on statutory damages may be needed to discourage abuse of the legal system.

The bill would also include a "notify-notify" clause much like the DMCA in the US.
Also, Canadians may also enjoy being able to record tv shows and make personal copies of music legally.

The bill makes a huge deal of making the cracking of "digital locks" illegal.
I'm not sure what the big deal is; it can be shown that somebody downloaded/shared something, but I can't see how the law could show who "cracked" a protection scheme.

S.G.