Canada Deems P2p Downloading Legal!

[DudeAsInCool]

Canada deems P2P downloading legal

By John Borland

Staff Writer, CNET News.com

  

December 12, 2003. Downloading copyrighted music from peer-to-peer networks is legal in Canada, although uploading files is not, Canadian copyright regulators said in a ruling released Friday.

In the same decision, the Copyright Board of Canada imposed a government fee of as much as $25 on iPod-like MP3 players, putting the devices in the same category as audio tapes and blank CDs. The money collected from levies on "recording mediums" goes into a fund to pay musicians and songwriters for revenues lost from consumers' personal copying. Manufacturers are responsible for paying the fees and often pass the cost on to consumers.

The peer-to-peer component of the decision was prompted by questions from consumer and entertainment groups about ambiguous elements of Canadian law. Previously, most analysts had said uploading was illegal but that downloading for personal use might be allowed.

"As far as computer hard drives are concerned, we say that for the time being, it is still legal," said Claude Majeau, secretary general of the Copyright Board.

The decision is likely to ruffle feathers on many sides, from consumer-electronics sellers worried about declining sales to international entertainment companies worried about the spread of peer-to-peer networks.

Copyright holder groups such as the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) had already been critical of Canada's copyright laws, in large part because the country has not instituted provisions similar to those found in the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act. One portion of that law makes it illegal to break, or to distribute tools for breaking, digital copy protection mechanisms, such as the technology used to protect DVDs from piracy.

Indeed, a lawyer for the Canadian record industry's trade association said his group still believed downloading was illegal, despite the decision.

"Our position is that under Canadian law downloading is also prohibited," said Richard Pfohl, general counsel for the Canadian Recording Industry Association. "This is the opinion of the Copyright Board, but Canadian courts will decide this issue."

In its decision Friday, the Copyright Board said uploading or distributing copyrighted works online appeared to be prohibited under current Canadian law.

However, the country's copyright law does allow making a copy for personal use and does not address the source of that copy or whether the original has to be an authorized or noninfringing version, the board said.

Under those laws, certain media are designated as appropriate for making personal copies of music, and producers pay a per-unit fee into a pool designed to compensate musicians and songwriters. Most audio tapes and CDs, and now MP3 players, are included in that category. Other mediums, such as DVDs, are not deemed appropriate for personal copying.

Computer hard drives have never been reviewed under that provision, however. In its decision Friday, the board decided to allow personal copies on a hard drive until a fee ruling is made specifically on that medium or until the courts or legislature tell regulators to rule otherwise.

"Until such time, as a decision is made on hard drives, for the time being, (we are ruling) in favor of consumers," Majeau said.

Legal analysts said that courts would likely rule on the file-swapping issue later, despite Friday's opinion.

"I think it is pretty significant," said University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist. "It's not that the issue is resolved...I think that sooner or later courts will sound off on the issue, but one thing they will take into consideration is the Copyright Board ruling."

Friday's decision will also impose a substantial surcharge on hard drive-based music players such as Apple Computer's iPod or the new Samsung Napster player for the first time. MP3 players with up to 10GB of memory will have an added levy of $15 added to their price, while larger players will see $25 added on top of the wholesale price.

MP3 players with less than 1GB of memory will have only a $2 surcharge added to their cost.

With about 31 million people, Canada is approximately one tenth the size of the United States. But Canadians are relatively heavy users of high-speed Internet connections that make it easy to download music files. About 4.1 million Canadians were using a broadband connection at home as of the end of June 2003, according to U.K.-based research firm Point Topic. By comparison, U.S. cable and DSL (digital subscriber line) subscribers totaled 22.7 million at the end of September, according to Leichtman Research Group.

Canada has already raised hackles among copyright holders over its reluctance to enact measures that significantly expand digital copyright protection, such as the United States' controversial Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). As a result, Canada might become a model for countries seeking to find a balance between protecting copyright holders and providing consumers with more liberal rights to copyrighted works. For now it remains unclear how other countries might be influenced by Friday's ruling.

Geist said he believes the tariff decision could be just the tip of the iceberg for hardware makers, as Canadian regulators grapple with the full implications of the policy. Other devices, including PCs, may eventually be brought under the tariff scheme, he predicted.

"Given that they've made a strong stand on (peer to peer), if the policy remains the same, there's little choice but to move ahead on personal computers," Geist said.

However, a representative of the Canadian Private Copying Collective (CPCC), the group of music copyright holders that typically petitions for new media types to be added to the list, said computers were not on its agenda.

"We have never sought levy on computer hard drives and do not intend to do so in the future," said Lucie Beaucheni, vice chair of the CPCC.

CNet.com

[treveinta]

Canada finaly did something right....

[rainbowdemon]

Canada finaly did something right....

We have no problem with Canada, or Canadians here!!

[ASUmusicMAN]

ah...bless Dennis Leary:

"Next stop. Not Russia. Not Iraq. Not Iran. Not Irate. I'll tell you where. You know where? Canada. I don't trust them! They're too nice and they're too quiet and they live right above America, okay? I think if you live in Buffalo, right at the Canadian border, and you listen very closely at night, you can hear those Canadians up there sharpening their ice skates and getting ready to come down and take our cheese!"

[HolyMoly]

Here's a little inside scoop. A few years ago, the USA decided to be a good "international" neighbor and join WIPO (the World Intellectual Property Organization). By the time we joined, most industrialized countries (and some third-world countries) were already members ... agreeing to respect the copyrights of other member nations. So, when we joined, most other countries considered us to be a "Johnny-come-lately" country ... and doing it not in the spirit of international cooperation but out of self-interest. So, WIPO gave member countries a choice ... to respect U.S. copyrights originating prior to their joining ... or to not respect them. Most chose NOT to respect them. So, when you hear about countries (ahem) "condoning piracy" of U.S. copyrighted material, a lot of it is sour grapes on our part. It's not necessarily that other countries condone piracy of U.S. copyrighted material ... it's that a lot of countries feel our decision to join so late was a slap in their faces ... one they have no problem in reciprocating.

Good show, Canada, for flipping the bird at our DMCA.