05+Bill+C-32,+The+Next+Step

For the pleasure of some, and displeasure of many, Bill C-32 was finally introduced to the house this month. And this time, updates to the copyright legislation seem to be more definitive than previous attempts.

You can start by taking a look at it here

And this is a comparison of bill C-32 vs. the 2008 C-61 bill by Keith Rose media type="custom" key="6367199"

It is deeply concerning how easily consumer rights can be voided by the anti-circumvention provisions included in this legislation. Albeit slightly more flexible than the Conservatives’ previous attempt at reforming copyright, Bill C-32 is flawed at its core by the inclusion of strict, anti-circumvention provisions. These anti-circumvention provisions are modeled after those found in the oft-criticized US DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) and effectively extinguish consumer and creator rights by tipping the balance of copyright law in favour of distributors and antiquated business models. Bill C-32 includes provisions to address consumer activities such as format and time shifting, however these are all subject to digital locks. For example, consumers would now be permitted expressly by law to rip tracks from a CD into an MP3 and then transfer it their iPod or to make a backup copy of digital content to protect against loss or damage. However, what about consumers who want to watch a new DVD they bought on their iPad? No chance, as all commercially available DVDs employ digital locks and breaking a digital lock is not permitted by C-32 in this instance. Now what if a consumer wants to make a backup copy of a video game to protect their investment from undue wear and tear? Pointless, seeing as a digital lock needs to be bypassed in order to make that personal backup copy playable. According to Bill C-32 both of these reasonable consumer acts would be illegal and subject to penalties of up to $5000.00. So in actuality, the only rights Canadian consumers will get under Bill C-32 are those that the music, movie and game distributors decide they get or what has been aptly referred to as “market forces” in recent discussions surrounding the bill.

Michael Geist has done a great job following the latest developments on this matter. He has 32 questions on bill c-32 digital lock provisions that can be read right [|here].

If bill C-32 passes, it will be integrated to the Copyright act. It would look like this:

media type="custom" key="6372421"

Everyone must [|take action] to make sure, that real needs for a copyright law in Canada upgrade are properly addressed.

NOTE:

House of Commons Breaks for the Summer, No C-32 Committee Until Fall Posted: 17 Jun 2010 11:32 PM PDT M. Geist blog With news that the House of Commons has taken a break for the summer, there will be no legislative committee examining Bill C-32 until the fall.