The new Copyright Act in Canada will allow Canadians to copy legally acquired music to their iPods and computers but ban them from circumventing DRM on other media.
The act also exempts ISPs from liability for copyright violations by their subscribers, but does demand they send letters from rights-holders to file-sharers warning them against their actions.
Canadians will also be permitted to record TV and radio shows for later viewing - but forbids them keeping a personal library of such shows.
The bill also reduces Canadians' individual liability to C$500 from a maximum of C$20,000 for making illegal copies of music or movies for private use.
However, a huge C$20,000 fine can be made against users who hack their ay past DRM or other digital locks, and against those making music or other media available through file-sharing services.
Measures are also included which make it illegal to “provide, market or import tools used to circumvent digital locks,” causing Red Hat founder Bob Young to warn the act could stymie open source development, criminalizing acts undertaken on a regular basis, such as developing extensions, reverse engineering code and researching security measures.
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Bush Lite and the gang...
Yes, our PM here in Canada is a GW Bush fanboy and this is pretty much a regurgitation of the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act... Yee ha!
Anyway to be accurate, the bill has only been 'tabled' and NOT passed in to law. It won't likely see a vote until the fall and I expect lots of changes will need to happen if it is to pass as we have a minority government here.
Some of the provisions are truly draconian and a giant step backwards - not to mention a few years behind the current state of affairs. Typical for this group of cowboy politicians.
It is NOT an ACT yet
One crucial thing to note here is that this in NOT an ACT but a proposed bill. It still has a number of levels of parliament to go through before becoming law - and it could fail at any of those stages.
the flag
Why are you using a distorted Canadian Flag?
Was wondering the same
Was wondering the same thing... should look like this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Canada.svg
Affordable Fine
Wow - C$20K...isn't that like $5 US or something?
Re: Affordable Fine
Hardly.... by the end of the month the Canadian Dollar might be worth more than the US Dollar again. The US Dollar is only worth 2.5 cents more than the Canadian Dollar today. It seems we've talked ourselves into a recession.
And yet we're still paying
And yet we're still paying 10-20% more for stuff.
Although from my math it looks like Apple products are closer to par than other products (computer and otherwise). Certainly some Apple software is AT par, like Leopard, iLife, etc.
RE: and yet...
You'll have to talk to your government about that...From what I understand it is the taxes and tariffs, not to mention additional shipping costs, that drive those prices.
Nope, just good ol' fashion
Nope, just good ol' fashion price-gouging.
Sales tax in Canada is added after purchase, just like in the US, not before purchase as in Europe.
And all I have to say about tariffs is: Free Trade.
Sure, if I order my single laptop on ebay there will be some duty, but I'm talking about major retailers.
Shipping is a different animal: From China to Canada it is about the same as shipping from China to the US. Now, shipping from US to Canada, you could make a case for higher prices. But 1: how many things are manufactured in the US anymore? And 2: Sure it's higher if I buy a single item online from a US reseller through UPS, but it shouldn't be for bulk. And I'm pretty sure that Best Buy Canada isn't ordering up my purchases one at a time from anywhere.
The infrastructure is in place to deliver a truckload of flatscreens to a major retailer in Moosejaw as cheaply as it's delivered to Fargo.
Nope. It's just good ol' fashioned price gouging, because they know that a huge group of consumers are so used to it they won't question it, and that group is in the less-likely-to-check-online age group.
The US imports thousands of
The US imports thousands of more cargo ships full of TVs than Canada does, so the cost of those Canadian bound TVs are already higher once they get onto that truck going to Moosejaw. It is just sheer bulk that is driving those prices. When you look at a population difference of the US having 10 times the population of Canada, you will see a difference there, also remember, Apple may be a US company, but those goods are being brought directly to Canada from Asia, so a Free Trade agreement with the US means nothing, there are import taxes that are being paid there.
Price gouging is the last thing that would explain the difference between the two, the SEC would be all over anyone that tried. This is basic economics.
And yet we're still paying
And yet we're still paying 10-20% more for stuff.
Although from my math it looks like Apple products are closer to par than other products (computer and otherwise). Certainly some Apple software is AT par, like Leopard, iLife, etc.
Apple Pricig clarification
On big ticket Mac stuff - sure - it is close in price and better than before.
But I just bought a magsafe replacement for may MBP and it was 99.9CAD at the Apple Store Canada compared to 79.00 in the US Store.
Nike + iPod kit is 39 in Canada and 29 in the US.
Accessories, games etc are still WAY TOO HIGH in the Apple Canada store.
See you are well read and
See you are well read and well informed. Educated as well.
The funny thing is.. that
The funny thing is.. that this bill is going to be tabled in all the G8 countries, and enforcement of these policies will fall to any gov't civil service person eg. customs officers. So no more travel for me, as it will end up costing me thousands of dollars in fines to leave own country
That's the cheeziest
That's the cheeziest rendition of the Canadian flag I've ever seen.
There's too many points. Compare to the flag at wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada
Problem with legislation
There are a few problems with this bill and copyright law in Canada. This bill tries to do too much and in the end only serves to put control in the hands of US media conglomerates. Here's what needs to happen:
1. The Copyright Act needs to define what is and is not legal. It fails miserably right now with too many ambiguities and complete ignorance of the Internet and digital file distribution. I'm all for making internet downloading of music and other works illegal, but I feel the penalties in this bill are too harsh and enforcement is not possible without breaking other privacy laws.
2. Fair use must be clearly defined. Academic, parody, transferring to other personal devices, backups, etc. must be clearly defined. This bill tries to do this but misses some points and...
3. DRM can be legal, but it must not override Fair use. That is the biggest problem with this bill. It should be legal to hack DRM as long as it's for fair use purposes. The bill written now, gives media companies the right to remove fair use law.
Point 3 is what everyone is up in arms about. Of course the few conservative supporters of the bill would have you believe we all are just whining because we want to steal free stuff from the Internet, it's fair use that is really the problem.
Government Again
Here is government infringing on fair use doctrine. What ever happened to personal liberty?
Fascists!!!!!!
One more reason to vote for
One more reason to vote for Anybody But Harper in the next election
What a weiner.
Canada - is your iPod legal?
Ha ha. Is that an iDope flag? Colour that maple leaf green. :)
Concern for loss of Canadian rights and freedoms
This Bill hasn't been passed by parliament and most likely won't due to the increased backlash from Canadians who are voicing their opinions and concerns in the media (ie: CBC, CTV, etc). I'm hoping for an early election to get the Conservatives out of parliament. They did little to nothing in regards to the Kyoto Protocol, health care seems to have gotten worse, not better, they seem to turn a blind eye to the increasing prices in gas and now seem to bend over to the USA when it comes to corporate pressure tactics on copyright and ACTA. If this Bill is passed it would open a whole can of worms to not just audio/video media but also restrict unlocking cellphones/smartphones such as the iPhone. Major telcos such as Rogers, Shaw, Telus are against the Bill as they feel it basically ignores certain rights under the Privacy Act and other rights and freedoms Canadians enjoy. It's ridiculous to force consumers to buy a music cd then tell them they have to pay again to use those same songs on their iPod, etc. Another ridiculous example of this Bill is basically making PVR technology used by Shaw and Rogers illegal since consumers would have a time limit on how long they can keep a copy of the programs backed up on the internal PVR hard drive. Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_Act_of_Canada http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Counterfeiting_Trade_Agreement