[kwlug-disc] [Wsic] Your country needs you (or "Our MP is on the C-32 committee")

[Kyle Spaans]

On Sat, Nov 20, 2010 at 10:16 AM, Denver Gingerich <denver at ossguy.com> wrote:
> Hi everyone,
>
> Apparently (and quite surprisingly to me) Peter Braid is one of the 12
> people on the committee that will be revising Bill C-32:

I've attached the contents of a reply I got via email from Peter
Braid's office. I
think he was trying to convince me that C-32 really does have friendly
exemptions
for consumers to time/format-shift etc... Does anyone know if what that email
claims is true, or is a misdirection?
-------------- next part --------------
Dear Mr. Spaans,

Thank you for your email regarding Bill C-32. I have forwarded a copy to Mr. Braid for his review.

The Government of Canada has introduced legislation to modernize the Copyright Act, bringing it up-to-date with the advances of the digital age.

This legislation will bring Canada in line with international standards and promote home-grown innovation and creativity. It is a fair, balanced, and common-sense approach, respecting both the rights of creators and the interests of consumers in a modern marketplace. The Government of Canada is working to secure Canada's place in the digital economy and to promote a more prosperous and competitive Canada.

The popularity of Web 2.0, social media, and new technologies such as the MP3 player and digital books have changed the way Canadians create and make use of copyrighted material. This bill recognizes the many new ways in which teachers, students, artists, software companies, consumers, families, copyright owners and many others use technology. It gives creators and copyright owners the tools to protect their work and grow their business models. It provides clearer rules that will enable all Canadians to fully participate in the digital economy, now and into the future.

Bill C-32 has been referred to the Legislative Committee for further review. This Committee will receive a diverse array of witnesses representing experts and Canadian stakeholders from all dimensions of debate in order to inform any potential amendments to the Bill. There will be ample opportunity for the input of Canadians in the legislative process as it unfolds.

You also expressed concern about provisions of the bill dealing with digital locks. The bill makes it illegal to circumvent or bypass technologies, such as password protection, used to prevent unauthorized access to copyrighted material. The manufacture, sale and distribution of devices that are primarily designed to hack digital locks, as well as the offering of services to do so, will also be prohibited and subject to civil remedies and criminal penalties.

The bill includes a number of specific instances where hacking digital locks is permitted. Digital locks can be hacked for the following purposes:

*	Law enforcement and national security activities; 
*	reverse engineering for software compatibility; 
*	security testing of systems; 
*	encryption research; 
*	personal information protection; 
*	temporary recordings made by broadcast undertakings; 
*	access for persons with perceptual disabilities; and 
*	unlocking a wireless device.

The government will also retain the ability, through regulatory power, to provide new exceptions to the digital lock prohibition to ensure access where the public interest might be served or where anti-competitive behaviour arises. 
Introducing legal protections for digital locks brings Canada in line with international partners, as it is one of the requirements of the World Intellectual Property Organization Internet Treaties. In addition, a new requirement for a parliamentary review of the Copyright Act every five years would help to ensure technological neutrality, so that the law is more adaptable to the constantly-evolving technology environment while having appropriate protections. 

While the music industry has moved away from digital locks on CDs, they continue to be used in many online music services. Software producers, the video game industry and movie distributors also continue to use digital locks to protect their investments. Canadian jobs depend on their ability to make a return on their investment. Businesses that choose to use digital locks as part of their business models will have the protection of the law.

Thank you for expressing your thoughts on this important issue. If you have any further concerns, please do not hesitate to contact our office. For more information, please visit www.balancedcopyright.gc.ca.

Best regards,

Natalie Halpenny
Member's Assistant to Peter Braid, M.P. 
Kitchener-Waterloo
Braid.P at parl.gc.ca 



-----Original Message-----
From: Kyle Spaans [mailto:kspaans at uwaterloo.ca] 
Sent: November 4, 2010 11:32 AM
To: Braid, Peter - M.P.
Subject: Bill C-32: Please listen to consumers

Hello Mr. Braid,

I'm very concerned about the current bill C-32. I feel that it is anti-consumer.
Specifically, the sections about breaking digital locks are the most unfair.
They would treat consumers who circumvent digital locks to get access to content
that they have a legal right to just as bad as a company doing commercial
counterfeiting.

A practical example of this is buying a music CD. After purchasing the CD to
listen to in your car and in your home stereo, you would have to purchase
another copy of the CD in a digital version if you wanted to listen to it
on your portable audio player (such as an MP3 Player, cell phone, or Apple
iPod). Do you think it's fair, Mr. Braid, for consumers to have to purchase
multiple copies of their music just so that they can listen to it in multiple
formats?

If you would like more information, I would be pleased to meet with you in
person to give you more explicit details.

Sincerely,

Kyle Spaans, University of Waterloo 4th-year Computer Science student
N2L 6G9

Constituent of Kitchener-Waterloo