A public consultation on Canadian copyright reform was launched this week and so has a new site to track developments and help Canadians participate in the consultation.
Speak Out on Copyright was launched by frequent digital rights activist and University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist to inform the public as to what's happening with copyright reform and provide tools to participate.
This isn't Geist's first go at the Government of Canada concerning copyright legislation.
When the Conservatives drafted Bill C-61, Geist was unhappy with many provisions and compared the legislation to the much derided American Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA.)
To counter the bill, he launched the Fair Copyright For Canada initiative in December 2007 and created a Facebook protest group which gained traction immediately gained tens of thousands of members.
Currently, the group has close 90,000 members signed up.
The movement is credited with delaying Bill C-61 which later died during the 2008 federal election.
Now with Minister of Industry Tony Clement and Heritage Minister James Moore consulting the public on how copyright laws should be reformed for the digital age, Geist is working the mobilize the public again and have their voices heard on the issue.
Along with providing updates and information on the current round of copyright reform, Geist also lists off his own concerns with the possible direction new copyright legislation could take.
The main concerns include the rights of consumers to back up media that has been legally purchased and use it on the device of their choice (for example, copying a legally purchased DVD to a consumer's laptop should not be a crime.)
Other concerns listed include the right to use copyrighted material for educational purposes, preserving fair-use, keeping fines for non-commercial piracy to a reasonable amount (not the six-figure settlements that have been seen with lawsuits in the United States) and staying neutral when it comes to technology (don't ban particular DVRs, for example.)
The public consultation will be taking place until September 13th and Canadians can make their submissions on the government Copyright Consultation web site.
Robert Janelle
Robert Janelle is a freelance technology journalist living in the National Capital Region. He's spent time covering the Ottawa start-up scene as a columnist and feature writer with his work in National Capital Scan, The Ottawa Citizen, The Ottawa Sun, Kingston Whig-Standard and The Escapist. He also suffers from a mild addiction to video games.
