Archive for the ‘Canada’ Category


Canadian DMCA rally in Calgary — photos, videos, reports

Mike Lawton on December 10, 2007 in Canada, Copyright, Politics No Comments »

For all my sermonizing, I found myself woefully unaware of the biggest public action on Canada’s proposed new copyright legislation nightmare, happening right outside my door! I was only a couple hours away too, hiking around a serene (if chilly) Lake Louise with Dreamgirl. Damn. I really would have liked to have been there.

Below is a report from those that were there, and I really hope they had the effect they were looking for!

 

via Boing Boing by Cory Doctorow on 12/9/07



Kempton Lam, who organized Saturday’s anti-DMCA rally at Industry Canada Minister Jim Prentice’s office in Calgary, Alberta, has posted a GREAT couple of articles reporting on the day, which looks to have been an unqualified success. The Minister (who was in Calgary for an open house at his constituency office) is introducing copyright legislation that mimics — and exceeds — the worst elements of the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) of 1998, a law that has resulted in lawsuits against 20,000 music fans, harmed free speech and innovation, and failed completely to enrich any artists or prevent infringement.

Minister Prentice has refused to answer any of the 250+ questions that the CBC Radio programme Search Engine compiled from its readers’ suggestions; and he shut Canadian artists, industry and consumer groups out of the drafting of the bill, writing it with the help of US entertainment giants and the US Trade Representative. The Minister’s office says that consumer interests in the bill will come about as the result of a separate committee, the kind of thing that usually takes a decade to come to fruition in Canadian law.

So on Saturday, some fifty concerned people attended the Minister’s open house and asked him some of the questions that the CBC had compiled. Hundreds more wrote and called the office (I tried to leave a message late on Saturday and found that all three of his office voicemail systems were filled and no longer accepting messages).

Word is that the Minister had no idea that this would be such a big deal for Canadians (the week-old Facebook group for fighting the bill just crested 10,000 members and is growing fast), despite the fact that the last two MPs who tried to introduce a slightly better version of the law ended up losing their jobs.

Word is that the Minister and his advisers are scrambling, rethinking the entire matter because of the public outcry. It’s thanks to you all — everyone who wrote and called, and especially people who went to the Minister’s office on Saturday, and especially Kempton Lam, who organised the whole event. (Be sure to check out all the videos Kempton filmed of Canadians putting questions about the proposal to the Minister)

We’ve killed the Canadian DMCA twice now. We will do it a third time, a fourth, a fifth, and forever, until Canada’s politicians start drafting balanced copyright laws that protect Canadian artists, scholars, critics, schools, libraries, and the public interest. Link to Part 1 of Kempton’s report, Part 2 of Kempton’s report

(Photo credit: _DSC0046 from LiminalMike’s Flickr stream)

See also:
O Canada! The Canadian DMCA version of the national anthem
Canadian DMCA introduced
CANADIANS! Tomorrow is your best chance to fight the Canadian DMCA! Event in Calgary, national phone-in
Canada’s DMCA won’t get any consumer rights added to it for a decade
Facebook group for fighting Canada’s DMCA growing fast
Ranting hand-puppet tackles Canada’s DMCA
HOWTO Fight Canada’s coming DMCA copyright law
Canada’s coming DMCA will be the worst copyright yet
Canadian DMCA: how it might have happened
CBC radio show needs your input for question with Minister responsible for Canadian DMCA
Canadian Industry Minister refuses to defend Canadian DMCA in public

Canadian Pirates vs American Bull$#!t

Mike Lawton on July 16, 2007 in Canada, Law, Politics No Comments »

This stuff scares me. Laws are being written by politicians with no clue under the “advice” of corporations with no concern beyond short-term profit maximization/loss minimization, at the expense of long-term industry sustainability, artistic creativity, and most importantly the protection of the public interest.

I honestly believe that if someone was able to effectively communicate to the average consumer (Canadian, American, anywhere!) what was being done to our rights, the sort of common sense, “of course I can do that” stuff that we all take for granted… I dunno. I’m pissed about it, anyone I talk to is either a) also pissed, or b) totally unaware of what’s going on.

Does Joe Public care that he can’t see some of the most amazing movies from around the world, because DVD manufacturers and movie studios have put regional locks on their players in order to manipulate prices on a market-wide scale?

Or that billion-dollar corporations, built from the ground by “re-imagining” classic stories, are trying to make sure that they continue to make money off of the work of artists that have been dead for decades, while also ensuring that no one can ever use their stories to draw inspiration for a new generation?

I am by no means a “burn-the-rich” anarchist. I’m writing this in my office, wearing a suit and tie, all corporate. I believe in business and profit and people getting paid for what they do. However, I do believe that the government is supposed to be there for the service and protection of it’s citizens, to offer a balance against those forces that may reach a tipping point at which they become a detriment to the public good.

via Boing Boing by Cory Doctorow on Jul 12, 2007


Cory Doctorow: Copyfighting law prof Michael Geist and filmmaker Daniel Albahary have put together a great short film called “Putting Canadian ‘Piracy’ in Perspective.” It’s a great, systematic debunking of of the claims that Canada is a haven for piracy, demonstrating that these claims are just scare-tactics from American corporate and government interests looking to change Canadian law to favor American firms to the detriment of the Canadian public. Link (Thanks, Robbo!)

Happy (Belated) Canada Day!

Mike Lawton on July 1, 2007 in Canada, Music No Comments »

I’m hanging my head in shame as I write this… I don’t mind letting a few half-written posts build up in my list, stuff that I’ve bookmarked to put up and talk about when I get some free time, but there are some rather date-sensitive topics that one should really stay on top of.

In my humble, meager, half-assed defense, I left for a two-week vacation the day before, and purposely didn’t even crack open my computer for at least the first 3 or 4 days. I’m only now digging back into my older unfinished posts from earlier in the summer when I came across this wonderful little tribute to a piece of unforgettable musical history.

(I am going to adjust the post date in Blogger to put this where it should have been, we’ll just keep this whole 5-weeks-late business between us, ok? Cool.)

via Boing Boing by Cory Doctorow on Jul 01, 2007


Cory Doctorow: It’s Canada Day, the day that marks the anniversary of Canadian Confederation on July 1, 1867. We Canadians celebrate it with days off work, beer, and fireworks. It’s like July 4, without the revolutionary overtones.

There is no more potent symbol of Canadianness than the National Film Board of Canada’s musical short, The Log Driver’s Waltz: more than Leonard Cohen’s groans, more than Dan Ackroyd’s rampant toryism, more than “timbit” jokes about Tim Horton’s tragic car accident, The Log Driver’s Waltz defines Canada for its expatriate thirtysomethings. Just singing a few bars of this in a crowded space is enough to flush the crypto-Canadians out (Canadians are like axe-murderers, we look just like regular people) in throaty voice. It’s even more reliable than stepping on everyone’s foot until someone apologises.

Happy Canada Day to my fellow Canadians, both domestic and expatriate.

As a bonus be sure to catch this unforgettable punk cover from Midget Militia. Link

Update: Here’s another version, performed by Captain Tractor — thanks, Heather!

Legal guide for Canadian podcasters

Mike Lawton on June 27, 2007 in Canada, Law, Politics, Tech No Comments »

I haven’t really thought of doing a podcast of my own, too many other little projects on the side right now. But it’s always good to keep up to date on the current copyright playground, if for no other reason than to feel smarter than 95% of our media and politicians!

 

via Boing Boing by Cory Doctorow on Jun 27, 2007


Cory Doctorow: Creative Commons Canada has produced a legal guide for Canadian podcasters — here’s how Canadian podcasters can navigate the legal minefields of copyright, libel and so on. Link

See also:
Legal guide for podcasters
EFF legal guide for bloggers
EFF Blogger Legal Guide in your trousers
Legal guide for bloggers covering US Election Day

Seven Wonders of Canada

Mike Lawton on May 15, 2007 in Canada No Comments »


CBC has compiled a list of nominees for what they’re calling the “Seven Wonders of Canada“.

Some of them I don’t really understand (the canoe?), some seem like obvious regional pandering (crooked trees?), but there are many great highlights of our country included here. The nitpicker in me questions what kind of definition they’re using; should we really be comparing natural phenomena (Northern Lights, Prairie Skies) and man-made structures (Confederation Bridge, Rideau Canal) on the same list? And if we’re going to look at conceptual inventions like canoes and igloos along with one-off achievements like the CN Tower, does that mean we’re ignoring all other Canadian inventions, like penicillin?

I think a more specific definition of “Wonder” might have given this project a bit more resonance. But regardless of what this list will ever mean it’s an excellent reminder of some of the truly unique and amazing wonders this country has to offer.

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