@TonyClement_MP@MPJamesMoore @CharlieAngusMP @MPMarcGarneau C32 protects digital locks more than US law, ACTA; but digital locks are not IP
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@TonyClement_MP@MPJamesMoore @CharlieAngusMP @MPMarcGarneau C32 must provide for circumventing digital locks when for lawful purposes
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Bill C32, the Act to amend the Copyright Act, has passed second reading and is now in committee. There are solid gains for fair dealing in Bill C-32, but they’re meaningless if the bill remains inflexible on protecting digital locks: the technological protection measures increasingly placed on media content and devices. (See this CBC article for a good explanation of digital locks and what their protection in this bill could mean.) The committee debating Bill C32 needs to keep hearing from Canadians about the major problem with the bill--and about its simple solution:

The problem:

Bill C32 protects digital locks more strictly than current US copyright law or even ACTA, and this protection trumps the bill’s otherwise substantial gains in fair dealing for Canadian consumers and educators. Furthermore, digital locks -- TPMs, DRM, etc -- are not intellectual property and should not be covered by IP legislation.

The solution:

Bill C32 should provide protection for circumventing digital locks when undertaken for lawful purposes. (As IP law professor Michael Geist says -- in item seven of this article -- this provision would still let Canada meet its obligations to international copyright agreements like WIPO and ACTA.)

Tweet or e-mail the committee members, as well as the ministers behind the bill, to let them know how to fix Bill C32, in order to protect flexible fair dealing for Canadians. Protecting fair dealing, not digital locks, is what will keep Canadian industry competitive, Canadian research innovative, and Canadian culture creative.

Charlie Angus (NDP) @CharlieAngusMP | Angus.C@parl.gc.ca
Kelly Block (C) @KellyBlockMP | Block.K@parl.gc.ca
Sylvie Boucher (C) Boucher.S@parl.gc.ca
Peter Braid (C) @peterbraid | Braid.P@parl.gc.ca
Serge Cardin (BQ) Cardin.S@parl.gc.ca
Dean Del Mastro (C) @mpdeandelmastro | DelMastro.D@parl.gc.ca
Marc Garneau (L) @MPMarcGarneau | Garneau.M@parl.gc.ca
Mike Lake (C) @MikeLakeMP | Lake.M@parl.gc.ca
Carole Lavallee (BQ) @Carolelavallee | Lavallee.C@parl.gc.ca
Dan McTeague (L) @danmcteague | McTeague.D@parl.gc.ca
Pablo Rodriguez (L) Rodriguez.P@parl.gc.ca
Committee chair: TBA

[cross-posted from Academicalism]