MP James Moore seems to be angry. He has begun lashing out at people–the self-same people he wanted to work with only a year ago. He is claiming that we don’t know what we’re talking about, that we need to be confronted, that we need to be defeated. He makes claims that we do not believe in copyright (which is wrong) and that we do not want copyright reform (which is also wrong).
Mr. Moore, you’re a coward. Anyone who would rather block debate than engage in it has no place in parliament in my books. Mr. Moore, you’re a fear-monger: suggesting that we’re radical extremists is the worst kind of polarizing politics. Mr. Moore, you’re wrong: we don’t want to eradicate copyright reform, we want the best copyright bill for artists and consumers.
We want to talk. We want to work together with you and with the industry. We want things to improve. We will not, however, stand idly by as you malign us, nor will we stand by as you hand Canadian rights, lock and key, over to massive media conglomerates.
Your about-face is fascinating. Perhaps you can explain why it happened. Maybe you can tell us why you’re so angry and why you refuse to listen to people.
Or maybe you’re happy in your new position, parroting talking points for an industry that’s so very frightened of change. Which is it?
The new Canadian DMCA would be great if it didn’t suck. It has specific inclusions to protect parody and satire, protects time and place shift, and does a lot of other great stuff. Except it won’t let you break a digital lock put on content from stopping you from exercising the very rights the bill gave you. With this provision in place you’ll never enjoy your gadgets and gear quite as much, ever again. It has to go.
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Fellow Canadians: we’re going to have to make another push to kill the government’s efforts to restrict our digital rights, and we’re going to have to do it soon. Ottawa is abuzz with the news that the resurrected Bill C-61 will be making its way to parliament within the week.
We’ve defeated this beast before and we can do it again. Here are some resources:
Copyright legislation is about to hit Ottawa… again. Despite the massive public outcry last time, the government is intent on enacting incredibly restrictive laws that will damage how you use your electronics. Get the facts, contact your MP, and don’t let them.
The Canadian Copyright Act, Part VII, Section 80 (Copying for Private Use) reads: “80. (1) Subject to subsection (2), the act of reproducing all or any substantial part of(a) a musical work embodied in a sound recording,(b) a performer’s performance of a musical work embodied in a sound recording, or(c) a sound recording in which a musical work, or a performer’s performance of a musical work, is embodiedonto an audio recording medium for the private use of the person who makes the copy does not constitute an infringement of the copyright in the musical work, the performer’s performance or the sound recording.”
