Geist: The Spirit of our Times - Copyright and Corporate Greed

According to Michael Geist, Canada Research Chair of Internet and E-commerce Law at the University of Ottawa, Industry Minister Jim Prentice has decided to forge ahead with the Canadian DMCA and will introduce the DMCA bill tomorrow morning despite a minor delay caused by concerned interest groups.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR CANADA?
Rather than being trailblazers and redefining fair copyright, we are following the American DMCA and allowing big business content owners to bully us around in a domain that is currently great because its members try to support fair use and collaboration.

Despite the fact that thousands of letters and phone calls urged the Canadian government to adopt balanced copyright reforms, no additional hearings or public policy sessions were scheduled. Will this piece of legislation meet everyone's needs and avoid harming education, consumer rights, privacy, and free speech? Nope. But it should help corporate media outlets ensure that they are the only ones making money or getting eyeballs off of their content.

While Minister Prentice delayed introducing the bill, it appears he only did so in order to introduce it with 2 days left until session breaks – no doubt a strategic effort to dispel the opposition's momentum.

THE MINISTER DANCES

The Facebook group that the opposition refers to is Michael Geist’s “Fair Copyright for Canada” Almost 20,000 members have joined. Get your ass on there and embed a button.

( Add your comments )

Recent Entries:
· The Rebirth of Hip-Hop? Right...
· Cloud Computing: The Buzz and Blur
· Spore: Inner Feelings from Outer Space

[ READER COMMENTS ]

(Note: separate multiple email addresses with commas)

Geist: The Spirit of our Times - Copyright and Corporate Greed

Add your comments...

We kindly ask that you keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Abusive or inappropriate comments or comments that are specifically promotional in nature may be removed.