Wouldn't it be funny if an election was fought over iPods?"— Charles Troster posting to a Facebook group, created to battle the forces of government as they seek to update Canada's copyright rules
Political Hell hath no fury it seems, than an angry iPod owner.
The Conservative Government of Stephen Harper is about to reap the whirlwind of the digital generation, with their recently re-introduced attempt to lock down the digital genie in our ever evolving technical world.
Bill C-61 is the lightning rod of discontent, the latest attempt of the Harper Conservatives to craft a piece of legislation that will have Canada abide by the terms of the World Intellectual Property Organization treaty, but in the eyes of many is simply a matter of taking the talking points of American interests and disguising them as a Made in Canada solution.
At the heart of the current debate are what is known as the digital lock provisions, a piece of the legislation reportedly tougher in Canada than in the US, that will change many digital patterns that Canadians now take for granted.
From posting items on Facebook or You Tube that may feature copyright material, to selling, renting, loading up Mom's ipod with tunes for her nightly walk, or even giving away your iPod to a friend(instead you are urged to destroy those files you seek to giveaway) you could find yourself in contravention of the law and possibly ready to face fines of between $500 and $20 000 for each work infringed.
While we can still transfer our iTunes purchases to an iPod it seems, there may be a few challenges with your personal library, should the anti circumvention locks become prevalent as an industry standard. In effect, the new provisions could end up blocking you from your own music to be enjoyed on your own or shared with friends on whatever preferred platform you choose to use, a sure fire death sentence we suspect for the CD and DVD industry as we know it now.
While many may welcome an end to the prolific piracy of the net and other questionable activities that prevail there, the access to mobility of music and other forms of digital enterprise that are bought and paid for by users would seem to be just plain common sense. Turning customers into would be convicts seems like an unusual business strategy and one that the major labels and studios may wish to think over quite a bit before tempting the fates of consumerism.
The move to quash an individual’s right to access their material from whatever means has stirred up debate on the internet like no other issue in recent times.
From high profile on line platforms like Facebook through to politically active websites such as Michael Geist, and even to locally based bulletin boards such as hackingthemainframe, the call has come to hold the government to account on this issue.
Political Hell hath no fury it seems, than an angry iPod owner.
The Conservative Government of Stephen Harper is about to reap the whirlwind of the digital generation, with their recently re-introduced attempt to lock down the digital genie in our ever evolving technical world.
Bill C-61 is the lightning rod of discontent, the latest attempt of the Harper Conservatives to craft a piece of legislation that will have Canada abide by the terms of the World Intellectual Property Organization treaty, but in the eyes of many is simply a matter of taking the talking points of American interests and disguising them as a Made in Canada solution.
At the heart of the current debate are what is known as the digital lock provisions, a piece of the legislation reportedly tougher in Canada than in the US, that will change many digital patterns that Canadians now take for granted.
From posting items on Facebook or You Tube that may feature copyright material, to selling, renting, loading up Mom's ipod with tunes for her nightly walk, or even giving away your iPod to a friend(instead you are urged to destroy those files you seek to giveaway) you could find yourself in contravention of the law and possibly ready to face fines of between $500 and $20 000 for each work infringed.
While we can still transfer our iTunes purchases to an iPod it seems, there may be a few challenges with your personal library, should the anti circumvention locks become prevalent as an industry standard. In effect, the new provisions could end up blocking you from your own music to be enjoyed on your own or shared with friends on whatever preferred platform you choose to use, a sure fire death sentence we suspect for the CD and DVD industry as we know it now.
While many may welcome an end to the prolific piracy of the net and other questionable activities that prevail there, the access to mobility of music and other forms of digital enterprise that are bought and paid for by users would seem to be just plain common sense. Turning customers into would be convicts seems like an unusual business strategy and one that the major labels and studios may wish to think over quite a bit before tempting the fates of consumerism.
The move to quash an individual’s right to access their material from whatever means has stirred up debate on the internet like no other issue in recent times.
From high profile on line platforms like Facebook through to politically active websites such as Michael Geist, and even to locally based bulletin boards such as hackingthemainframe, the call has come to hold the government to account on this issue.
.
A warning that our very freedoms may be at stake as the government seeks to enforce its legislation, perhaps allowing the government unfettered access to our computers and files in the search for a song or movie. If taken to its logical next step this could make the government the ultimate of net nannies, ready to quash any behavior contrary to the legislation.
Introduced as it has been just before an anticipated summer break, we suspect that over the course of the summer the government will learn just how out of touch it seems to be with the current technical revolution and those newfangled machines out there.
Considering the state of this minority government, we suspect that there’s a pretty good chance that this bill will be coming back for yet another modification, before it gets anywhere near the passed status.
As Mr. Troster points out in his Facebook posting, it would indeed be pretty funny if the next election campaign was fought over the right to listen to your own music on your own iPod.
Considering the ubiquitous nature of the device in Canadian society now, that’s an awful lot of lost votes waiting to be counted for somebody with a better plan. Surely this is not the kind of issue that any government would wish to have blamed for its demise and even its subsequent loss at the polls.
It’s a fascinating debate that is suddenly roaring to life, going much beyond the simple use of an iPod, though for the moment that small handheld device is the poster child for rebellion it seems.
You can check out the following links for more background on it and then watch to see how if the backlash provides a platform for change or if this government decides to stay its course, regardless of the turbulence that seems on the horizon.
Introduced as it has been just before an anticipated summer break, we suspect that over the course of the summer the government will learn just how out of touch it seems to be with the current technical revolution and those newfangled machines out there.
Considering the state of this minority government, we suspect that there’s a pretty good chance that this bill will be coming back for yet another modification, before it gets anywhere near the passed status.
As Mr. Troster points out in his Facebook posting, it would indeed be pretty funny if the next election campaign was fought over the right to listen to your own music on your own iPod.
Considering the ubiquitous nature of the device in Canadian society now, that’s an awful lot of lost votes waiting to be counted for somebody with a better plan. Surely this is not the kind of issue that any government would wish to have blamed for its demise and even its subsequent loss at the polls.
It’s a fascinating debate that is suddenly roaring to life, going much beyond the simple use of an iPod, though for the moment that small handheld device is the poster child for rebellion it seems.
You can check out the following links for more background on it and then watch to see how if the backlash provides a platform for change or if this government decides to stay its course, regardless of the turbulence that seems on the horizon.
National Post-- Win, win or spin, spin?
National Post-- Mixed reaction to new copyright act
National Post-- A bill to save Kill Bill rights
National Post-- Copyright holders give thumbs up to new act
Hollywood Reporter-- Canada puts forth copyright legislation
Canada.com-- Is your iPod breaking the law
Calgary Herald-- Canada takes aim at digital pirates
Toronto Star-- New rules for iPod nation
Toronto Star-- Industry group applauds bill
Ottawa Citizen-- Fine print makes for disturbing reading
Globe and Mail-- Ottawa gets tough with illegal downloaders
Globe and Mail-- Copyright bill: All ours, or a DMCA copy?
Sudbury Star-- MP3 legislation makes too many criminals
Hamilton Spectator-- Copyright Crackdown
Georgia Straight-- Music creators coalition opposes Jim Prentice's copyright bill
No comments:
Post a Comment