Canadian Copyright Act to Mirror DMCA
Bill would permit lawsuits for downloading, copying digital media.
By: Bianca Fox
Posted: 12/10/2007
CANADA - The updated Canadian
Copyright Act, a bill that is similar to the United States' Digital Millennium
Copyright Act, could be introduced before Dec. 25, said Canadian attorney Paul
G. Kent-Snowsell.
"The new legislation will
closely mirror and parrot the DMCA as a result of our politicians bowing to the
pressure from these U.S.
corporate lobbyists," he told AVN Online on Monday.
Kent-Snowsell said the bill is to be tabled, made
available for review and then debated in the House of Commons. A number of
amendments could be made. The bill would have to "pass through" three readings before
being voted into law, Kent-Snowsell said.
The Canadian Music Creators Coalition, a lobby group
whose members include Sarah McLachlan, Avril Lavigne and The Barenaked Ladies,
opposes the changes to the Canadian
Copyright Act, which would permit wide-sweeping lawsuits against those who
download or copy digital media.
"Those opposed to the
legislation argue that it is out of step with today's technologies and the
emerging technologies of the Internet," Kent-Snowsell said. "Further, it is
unnecessary based on the government's own research."
Kent-Snowsell said Industry Canada, a ministry of the federal
government, has released a study finding that peer-to-peer file sharing "does
not put downward pressure on purchasing music, as the music industry has
insisted for years."
"In fact, it does just the opposite, tending to
increase music purchasing," he said.
The DMCA, signed into law by
President Bill Clinton in 1998, made it illegal to transmit or profit from
copyrighted material online.
Under the DMCA, service
providers are not liable for copyrighted material being part of their services
if can prove they have systems in place to address complaints of copyright
infringement. YouTube, AdultFriendFinder, MySpace, Google, PornoTube and
RapidShare are among the service providers that have used this defense.
