back to article Canada moots tough sanctions for DRM flouters

The Canadian government today unveiled a controversial proposal to update the country's copyright laws. Bill C-61 seeks to fight piracy over the internet by giving companies even more power over where digital content can be moved. While it reduces the maximum fines for criminals actually caught violating intellectual property …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Flame

    Completly out of line

    The conservatives (if you see one spit in is face) is Selling canada to the DIgital Mafia (MPAA/RIAA). This bill is so anti-consumer that the PM should be jalled just for trying to introduce it.

    One the next election vote with you brain. The conservative must be kick out of the country once and for all.

    Untouchable users rights:

    1. I have the right to copy to any device i own any product that i have paid for,

    2. I paid for the product. i own the righ to view/listen it when ever/where ever i want

    3. Recording TV is a RIGHT that cannot be touch

    The law (c) need to chamge to include the fellowing

    DRM must be made illegal

    Content provider cannot use anybody to illegally break into people computers

    The taxes on storace medium stay and D/L from the internet is not a crime of the taxes goes and then D/L from the net is a crime

    If illegal DRM stays any company tha sell DRM infested product (expecialy online) must be force to refund or give buyers a FULL NON DRM copy of anything they have bough, if the company close.

  2. Darryl

    And this is why...

    ...my proud country is now know as "America's Hat"

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    DRM didn't work, did they not get the memo?

    "The bill states that it is not an infringement to record audio or video being broadcast for personal use, unless it was available solely over the internet or circumvents any DRM. Recording television shows that are flagged by broadcasters is also illegal."

    Did they not get the memo? DRM just made the product so cumbersome to buy and use that it never caught on. The music industry almost put itself out of business in the process of slapping DRM on everything.

    And whose DRM? If they show public domain clips on their TV and slap DRM, does the broadcaster then own it?

    What if I'm the copyright holder and someone else's DRM? Is breaking the DRM to get my stuff also an offence? Say Microsoft has slapped some of it's sh*t all over my documents and now I'd like to get to them.

    "A "moral right" would allow performers to prevent distortions or mutilations of their performances and to control what products, for example, are associated with their work."

    So I can bypass the limitation on how my work is used by pretending it offends my morals? Either the moral right was worth putting in the original contract or not, but you can't later add terms.

    "With regard to TMs in particular, it is critical to note that these technologies are used at the discretion of rights holders. "

    Well no, they have to go through the broadcasters and distribution like iTunes and they don't get much say in that, as Radiohead found out to their cost before they ditched their record label.

  4. Herby

    A lose - lose proposition

    Everybody loses, even those who are supposed to "benefit" from the solution. Most of these bills have SEVERE problems.

    Enough said!

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Paris Hilton

    more than likely also aimed at those cracking pay tv

    given the....ahem.....massive and growing popularity of avoiding paying for Pay TV in North America, mainly by the use of reprogrammed Free To Air boxes, and the massive lobbying by the Pay TV industry in Canada and the States it wouldn't surprise me if this bill was more aimed at that than at the people copying CDs etc. (given that Canada has a blank media levy which technically (and has judgements in support of) that you can copy anything for personal use as the media you are burning to is levied for that reason.

    Not that I would have any experience in cracking Pay TV of course....heinous crime and all that....which would probably make me in the minority of people in North America who don't own at least one..."modified" box to watch the other nation's TV.....US for better dramas....Canada for better...."graphical adult entertainment".....graphical being an understatement...again not that I would know anything about that...word of mouth.....honestly ;-)

    Paris as I'm sure some of her movies have been on Canadian Adult TV

  6. Shabble

    DVD regions

    What about bypassing DVD region codes? It's well known that these have no legal basis and exist purely for companies to prevent global free trade.

    I hate this kind of 'will benifit normal Canadians' argument. What it really means is that it will benifit Canadian tax revenues. A bit of political honesty would be nice.

  7. Steven Raith
    Pirate

    Linux/DVD/BluRay/DRM

    Um, isn't there still a bit of an issue regarding BluRay on Linux platrofrms which means that the video has to be 'cracked' to be viewed, or have I missed a meeting somewhere*?

    Anyway, as has been noted, DRM is dead in the water and only feeds piracy, rather than stopping it - the sooner that content producers realise this, the better for for everyone.

    Steven R

    *not being facetious or sarcastic - if anyone can clarify this for me, I'll be glad to absorb it through my hangover tomorrow morning when I should be concentrating on load balancing routers and stuff....

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Linux

    Regardless of whatever law

    Any content that arrives into my home, whether through a CD or DVD I bought, or cable coming into the house, or an Internet download, I personally reserve the right to do with it as I choose. No, I won't make the new CD available for download by hundreds or thousands of strangers, but I won't shed a tear or experience a moment of guilt as I cheerfully discard any DRM and copy it to as many devices as I please. If I buy a CD, I can take that CD and put it in my home stereo, my car, and my Walkman, why the hell should I suffer anything less for any content that I've paid for. In my perhaps not so humble opinion, when media or a signal of whatever kind arrives into my grubby little possession, it's mine to do as I please for my personal use, period. Would I buy Nestlè chocolate chips with the provision that I couldn't bake them into cookies using Pillsbury cookie dough? NO.

    Nuff' said, end of rant.

  9. shock_wave
    Flame

    Former Canadian willing to immigrate

    To any country that hasn't made common sense and basic rights illegal.

    I am officially ashamed of my country for allowing this to even be read in Parliament.

    We were the country that stood up to the US and said that we would not join the coalition of the idiots and now our rights are up for the highest bidder.

    The US flag added a small maple leaf to the blue field today.

  10. James Anderson
    Happy

    Hacked Off.

    I think the Canadians are just hacked off 'cause nobody ever dowloaded a Celine Dion track.

  11. Ralph B
    Pirate

    Win Win

    A win for the politicos (for the backhanders they get from The Industry for pushing this law through) and a win for the lawyers (for their fees for prosecuting and defending the users).

  12. Lol Whibley
    Flame

    Oh Canadaaa, Oh Canadaaargh

    Wee don't care about yoooo..

    Aside from that, looks like your Goverment just sold your Ass to the MPRIAA. the only ones getting paid here will be the lawyers.

    unlucky. who voted them into power then?

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Pirate

    Blank Media Surcharge

    means I have already paid for whatever I download. further charges are doubledipping...

    Anyway this law is datf as using the write to disc feature of itunes removes the DRM form the digital file as it is written in audio format. you are now a criminal.

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Flame

    What a liar!

    "It's a win-win approach because we're ensuring that Canadians can use digital technologies at home with their families, at work, or for educational and research purposes," said Prentice in a statement. "We are also providing new rights and protections for Canadians who create the content and who want to better secure their work online."

    If you can't circumvent the DRM, then it is impossible to use something purchsed for one medium at work and then use it at home or school or anywhere else! You're stuck with crippled product!

    Yeah, mate you can buy the new car, but you can only keep it on your driveway - since it ain't licensed to go on the road!

    Not only doesn't DRM work (since it can always be circumvented easily), it is also unduly restrictive on the consumer.

  15. Nigel
    Jobs Horns

    Devil in the detail

    The devil is in the detail (and in the courts' interpretations).

    What is "circumvent"? Is DRM circumvented if one sticks a microphone to an earphone and tapes what comes out of an iPod? Or uses a cable to connect the headphone output to a recording device (for personal replay on some other player, of course). Or opens a DVD player and moves the region jumper?

    At the other extreme is someone cracking complex encryption schemes and then selling keys to unlock (say) encrypted pay-for movie channels, for personal gain.

    I'd like to see a definition that notwithstanding anything else, no circumvention ever takes place when a person causes a signal intended to emit from one device to emit from a different device, provided that he has the legal right to listen to or watch the source and the legal right to use both devices, and is using his chosen output device personally and not for profit. IANAL but I think that covers most "fair use".

  16. Vendicar Decarian
    Boffin

    Flip that bit... Go to Jail.

    A friend of mine has just told me that as a result of this bill he will now obtain all his movies and music through downloading.

    He will never purchase entertainment content again.

    I commend him.

    I also note that it is a KKKonservative government who brings this Freedom to the Canadian people.

    The only good KKKonservative is a dead KKKonservative.

  17. Magnus

    Region coding is a DRM technology

    Just to quickly answer the above, yes it is.

    Yes, DRM is often easily circumvented. This is why they want to introduce these draconian laws. They don't expect the technological barrier to work. The point is that they can now slap any kind of silly DRM scheme on any of their stuff defining whatever restrictions they want. This means that if you want to do anything they haven't explicitly approved they can then invoke the DRM circumvention clause, without even mentioning any specific copyright infringements in their case.

  18. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    Oh dear

    When are politicians going to get it into their thick heads that DRM is like pouring petrol onto the piracy argument and that file sharing is going to actually increase as a result, may be it physical or over the internet.

    Additionally the customer is going to feel quite legitimised in doing so as he/she is being constantly ripped off by the bloated media cartels.

    How about this - if you buy a CD or DVD then you are entitled to lifetime replacement warranty if the medium becomes damaged, unplayable or obsolete.

    They want control over copyright until the end of time so they should be responsible to the consumer until the end of time otherwise they can get stuffed , I'll be off to the Pirate Bay as I'm not paying for all their coke and multimillion dollar salaries.

  19. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    RE Hacked Off.

    As a Canadian, I have to say....

    that is really funny and I probably true.

    As for being Americas' hat...

    we follow America's lead, except when they tell us it's OK not too. This allows our politicians to pretend that they don't completely pander to the U. S. A. and it allows us, as citizens, to pretend we still have a national identity.

    I believe that we have not had a strong, independent government since P. E. T. was our prime minister. This country, Canada, needs massive political reform before it falls completely apart. Unfortunately, the broad and deep changes needed here occur after the catastrophe not before.

    I've started to wonder if it's difficult to emigrate to one of the Scandinavian countries, or it would appear that they have their political houses in order (willing to be corrected if I'm wrong). Must look into that.

  20. Asoces
    Coat

    @Shabble - Political honesty? Aaaaahhhhhh hahahahahahaha...

    ..... hahahahahahahahahahahaha.

    <Catches breath>

    Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahahahahaha.....

  21. Sureo
    Go

    $500 fine

    I can't see much enforcement for the sake of a $500 fine. Our police services are overstressed with other (serious?) crimes. Not much to worry about, like not picking up your dog's poop.

  22. Jeremy
    Stop

    What a musician thinks

    As a musician who sooner or later will get around to making some of his music available online I'll say this: IT WILL ALWAYS BE FREE OF DRM !! I want you to listen to and enjoy my music without being restricted and told you can't listen to it whenever and however you like.

    DRM is a perverse attack on the listeners freedom and detrimental to the listening experience. Music is among other things, about enjoyment, and DRM is anathema to this. Making it illegal to remove it is even worse.

    Furthermore, in the country where I live (Australia), I contend that DRM restrictions are incompatible with Fair Use copyright laws.

  23. Ole Juul
    Pirate

    Treason

    The current government is not Canadian.

    In this case it is especially obvious because every single Canadian interest group, including Big Business, is opposing them on this bill. They simply don't represent anybody in this country.

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