Bill C-61

Copyright under attack

By Julia Dmytryshyn

Former Industry Minister Jim Prentice

On June 12, 2008, Parliament released its highly controversial copyright reform bill, C-61, and although it died on the table when Prime Minister Harper called an election in October 2008, there is every indication the new government will trot it out again. Copyright policy was on the ballot at the recent Conservative Party convention and was prominent in the Conservative election platform.

Introduced by then-Minister of Industry Jim Prentice, the bill became the focus of an immediate outcry over its severe restrictions, especially over its striking similarity to the United States' Digital Millennium Copyright Act, enacted in 1998, and by most accounts, a colossal failure. The release of the bill prompted Canadians to stand up across the country and protest. There are 92,000 members of the "fair copyright for Canada" group on Facebook, and during the election campaign, many Canadians asked their Members of Parliament candidates to sign pledges against the bill.

Bill intended to update copyright and address the Internet

The government's publicity documents describe Bill C-61 as a chance to "update the rights and protections of copyright owners to better address the Internet, in line with international standards", "permit certain uses for educational and research purposes of Internet and other digital technologies to facilitate technology-enhanced learning, inter-library loans, the delivery of educational material and access to publicly available material on the Internet", and "permit certain uses of copyright material for private purposes".

But the reality is quite different. To outline just a few of the lowlights under Bill C-61:

• There are significant limitations on time-shifting formats (these limitations don't exist in the US DMCA). This means if you have a DVR or PVR device, Bill C-61 permits you a single viewing of your recording, and then you must delete it or face the consequences.
• You cannot copy CDs or DVDs that have digital locks on them into other digital formats, such as your iPod, or even your laptop, even if you are making them as backup copies only.
• You are not allowed to scan a photo that you didn't take onto your computer, or send the picture as an email attachment.
• It is illegal to unlock a cellular phone for use in another country.

The entire bill is stifling to virtually all aspects of copyright use. And what if you break the rules? The minimum fine is $500 for an illegal music download, and up to $20,000 per infringement for most other violations.

The foremost critic of Bill C-61, Michael Geist, a Canadian law professor and columnist, says that the bill's "provisions are worse than the U.S. and the consumer exceptions riddled with limitations as the government promotes a strategy of locking down content and launching lawsuits against Internet users."

Critic says bill affects consumers and the environment

He notes that it's not only consumers who will suffer if Bill C-61 passes, but also, interestingly, the environment. Geist cites a number of reasons for this, one example being the prohibition against unlocking cellular phones. He says, "Canadians trash an estimated 184,000 tonnes of old computers, cell phones, and printer cartridges each year, with many of these items containing potentially hazardous materials such as mercury and lead". Under the bill, since cellular phone unlocking is not allowed, everyone who changes phone networks would have to buy a new phone.

As it is now written, Bill C-61 is indefensible. Liberal Member of Parliament Scott Brison describes it as creating a "police state". There are more critics than proponents of Bill C-61, including many groups of artists, like the Canadian Recording Industry Association, and the Canadian Music Creators Coalition. Unless there are significant changes to Bill C-61, and especially now that Parliament is open again, this bill is something every Canadian should be carefully following and discussing with Members of Parliament.