RSS FeedLaw is Cool - Podcast #12
In my first podcast for Law is Cool, I had a conference call with Dr. Sam Trosow and a group of political bloggers about copyright and Bill C-61. They are concerned about the impact of the proposed legislation on creators and consumers of digital media. Special thanks to Omar Ha-Redeye and Scott Tribe for making this show possible.
The Panelists
- Dr. Sam Trosow is an Associate Professor at the University of Western Ontario, jointly appointed to the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Information and Media Studies. He is also a co-author of Canadian Copyright: A Citizen’s Guide.
- Scott Tribe is the author of the blog Scott’s DiaTribes and an Administrator of the Progressive Bloggers community. Progressive Bloggers has come out against Bill C-61 and promoted the Fair Copyright for Canada Facebook group.
- John Klein is the Saskatchewan-based blogger behind Abandoned Stuff by Saskboy. An expert on tin foil hats, he was recently a member of the Bloggers team on CBC’s “Test the Nation”.
- Mike Park is a left libertarian blogger from Ottawa. His blog is called Rational Reasons.
New Copyright Bill C-61 Rallying Canadians
Copyright reform may not seem like the sexiest of issues, but it has caught the attention of Canadians and launched itself to the front of the political agenda. The membership of Fair Copyright for Canada Facebook group surged recently and now has over 80,000 members.
The support is really astonishing in Canada. Copyright reforms have been going on throughout the world as countries try to meet international agreements. However, nowhere has the issue generated as much support as it has Canada. In Switzerland, for example, the issue seemed to receive little mainstream attention. The site No Swiss DCMA attempted to collect 50,000 signatures to force a referendum on the revision of the copyright act. They managed to get 803.
One reason for the widespread support seems to be that the proposed changes in the recently tabled Bill C-61 will impact every single Canadian. One group of people which will be particularly affected is students. From distance education to music copying, if passed, this law would make thousands copyright infringers.
Bill C-61 protesters questioned Jim Prentice at his Calgary Stampede breakfast. Photo: k-ideas @ Flickr
To market the bill, Industry Minister Jim Prentice has dubbed it the “made in Canada” bill (as opposed to “imported from the US DCMA” bill) and is highlighting the new provisions that most Canadians probably think are already law. The current Copyright Act:
- “does not specifically allow you to make a copy of a book, newspaper, periodical, photograph or videocassette in order to enjoy it on another device. It also does not specifically allow you to copy music onto devices such as computers and digital audio recorders.”
- “does not specifically allow you to record a radio or television program.”
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