CopyWRONG

It is believed that the Canadian Industry Minister Jim Prentice will be tabling a new proposed legislation any minute now in the House of Commons; this law is being dubbed the Canadian version of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act, yet it will be even more restrictive than its US counterpart. (Of course, the only reason I know about this is because of internet blogs and NOT the national news, where it should be, but that's another rant for another day). Under this new proposal, which caters to foreign industry/lobby groups and ignores the needs of Canadian citizens to whom these clowns are responsible, the following activities will be punishable by law:

-ripping a CD you bought with your own money to your computer so you can play it on your MP3 player or your cell phone. What? It works on one but not the other? Looks like you'll have to buy another version of it for every device you want to play it on.

-trying to get around the copy protection encoded into your legally-purchased sound or video file so that you can use it with new applications/devices because the original ones are no longer supported by the companies who manufactured them when you bought it (if they still exist). You'll just have to buy it again ...

(feeling violated yet?)

-In addition to messing with the files themselves, tinkering with consumer goods (that you bought with your own money) with Digital Rights Management locks on them is also an offence. That's right electronics geeks & computer science students -- better not let your curiosity get the better of you; you don't really need to know how that thingy works anyway, do you?

-recording a TV show so you can watch it later (geez!! Look out TiVo users, next thing you know you'll be shacked up in the slammer with axe murderers and pot-smoking hippies)

-removing bloated, convoluted and fundamentally broken Windows Vista from your PC in favour of running a sane operating system that will actually work for more than 3 seconds without crashing.

The big record industry giants have been whining and bitching for years now that their profits are declining because of illegal downloading, and tout their aggressive anti-user lobbying under the guise of "oh the artists, the artists, they're suffering, we have to protect the artist". Most signed artists see a fraction of a dollar for every CD sold after and only after the label has paid off its overhead, including the secretary's salary. Looks like if they get what they want, a select few of us might stand to make TENS of DOLLARS if we get signed to a big label. Woo hoo!!!!

To quote the great Janis Ian: "In 37 years as a recording artist, I've created 25+ albums for major labels, and I've never once received a royalty check that didn't show I owed them money". She has a whole slew of insightful commentary on this subject. Check her out here:

http://www.janisian.com/article-internet_debacle.html

Sooooo, if this legislation is supposed to protect artists, as the big players in the recording industry so insist, why are hugely successful artists like the Barenaked Ladies and Sarah McLachlan so vehemently against it, and why is Radiohead selling their new album directly to their fans with no DRM, for whatever the public feels like paying for it? These are commercially successful recording artists who make a lot of money, not struggling penniless beatniks (though their concerns are just as valid). Something doesn't quite add up here ...

This doesn't just affect recording artists and music fans - it also affects software programmers, radio and TV producers, photographers, educators, students, archivists, writers, composers, publishers, web designers, independent filmmakers, DJs, and every Canadian consumer who owns an iPod, cell phone or DVD player.

The lead-up and content of this proposed law is so incredibly complex and there is so much more to be discussed ... what I've presented here is just the tip of the iceberg.

If you're Canadian and you care about your rights as a consumer or identify yourself with any of the above professions, (or any others I haven't listed here that are affected by laws aimed at the use of digital technology for the dissemination of work), check out Michael Geist's blog:

http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/2431/125/

He's a lot smarter than me and knows way more about this than I do, being a copyright law professor and all. If you're on Facebook, join his group, "Fair Copyright for Canada".

On the other hand, if you don't care, well ok, just go about your life in the new digital age (pretty hard to avoid unless you're Amish), and don't complain to me about your lawsuit-and-fine-induced bankruptcy.