Canadian DMCA and the ACTA

Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 2:33 pm

Without going into all the painful details here, refer to Geist's initial thoughts on it and all the side links in his posts. To all Canadians consumers, there's much to dislike about this bill, so answer to Geist's call and write to your government. If there's a time to get political, the time is now when the new bill is being introduced. I'll write more on this as I read more on it. In the mean time, some simple things you can do if you use Facebook: join the Fair Copyright for Canada group, as well as our own isoHunt group on Facebook. There may come a time when will perhaps organize rallies of some sort, so lets stay in touch.

Another big one to watch referenced in Geist's post is the ACTA, a sneaky trade agreement to turn border patrols into copyright enforcers. Imagine P2P software/downloads banned (authorized distribution or not), and your laptop confiscated because it carries contraband digital bits. All very draconian, and fortunately with the Internet and Wikileaks, no secret is safe.

UPDATE: From the Canadian Music Creators Coalition ( CMCC ): Copyright Reform Bill Doesn’t Help Canadian Artists, and David Fewer Of CIPPIC On Canadian DMCA Introduction (video)

Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2008 9:55 am

I'm getting scare everytime about these kind of news... Shocked

Last night the news said:"any MP3 song you download,cost you $500 fine"

If this new law is going to post... I'm going sleep everyday...waitting to die.. Sad

Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2008 10:00 am

Ouch...

As someone in the UK who's government are so incompitent, stupid and sheep like when it comes to global policies, I feel your pain.

Like most politiains who think there 'down with the kids' or even technically minded, think of these bizarre ways police things and then don't enforce them.

Good luck in your battle but be prepared as they'll try and drown you in waffle and speil which they really know nothing about.

Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2008 10:55 am

As a Canadian citizen, this bill disturbs me a little bit... (as it should anyone who uses any form of electronically device)
With this bill they will limit our freedoms and will infringe upon our privacy.

Who exactly is the Canadian Government defending anyways...

Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2008 6:06 pm

the more and more i see the government make laws and bills like this the more i feel like all the years of developing this technology has gone to waste...

bit torrents and p2p based software is an awesome and amazing way to share and we should be embracing it not stopping it and trying to shut it down...

ive created videos and music that i share free over the internet and never asked for anything. even if i had more talent i feel my views on this would remain the same. its times like this i turn to the creations like Steal This Film, We Are The Strange, and Radioheads In Rainbows album and say why cant this be the future of media and internet distribution

if there comes a time to rally, count me in. this is something we really need to stick together on.

Sharing is how we grow and learn... it inspires us and moves us...
ISOHunt 4 Life
God help us all...

Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2008 6:20 pm

MikeThaMunsta wrote:

bit torrents and p2p based software is an awesome and amazing way to share and we should be embracing it not stopping it and trying to shut it down...

we are embracing it. It's not the "we" that's really a concern here, it's the "them" and you know what, if "they" really consisted of artist and what the video posted breifly refers to as "creators" I would be a lot more on their side. However, the people being represented by all this is a bunch of old wealthy people, mostly represented by 30 something white lawyers.. that believe they are simply entitled to a piece of any entertainment created. Shares and free artist are a threat to everything they are and have built over the last 70 years or so.

I think the truth is they see this developing and see what I'm sure must be a horrible and quite depressing truth. They aren't really needed anymore. The large recording studios, the huge offices the massive parties... just don't need it anymore. People can produce direct and distribute from their own homes. If I was them, it'd scare the living hell out of me, because it would mean I had lost control of the situation.

but oh low and behold there is a scapegoat!!!
how wonderful, people are stealing using this technology which means it needs to be metered and controlled... and if that's the case then someone has to police it, which means they'll need to get paid, so it's pretty simple once they get enough laws in place, they'll open up something that they claim is wonderful and innovative and they'll introduce this new entity where everyone can trade and share freely... so long as they can monitor it and get a tiny profit for every damn bit of data you move through the lines.

Yeah, well I'm not falling for it because the next thing on the net they'll take from me in the name of safety and security is my freedom of speech and my freedom to search and find whatever information I want at the touch of a button....
They're a little late though they're used to having decades to slowly creep in and work their magic on the system, I don't think the internet is going to give them that kind of time, there are too many minds and too much information interacting too fast for them to keep ahead of it.

Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2008 9:36 pm

Nothing can stop file sharing, unless someone shuts the internet down.

Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 12:01 am

In most cases artist only receive around 10 to 17% of total royalties.

Worst off, the labels force the artist to take out a high interest loan (or a loan at the very least) to provide themselves with the staff necessary to produce and promote the music they create.

So in other words, the artist is providing themselves with just about everything.

They receive no royalties until that debt is repaid to the label.

So the labels basically find talented people to put into debt and then squeeze them for every dime they can because "they are in a position of power that can do so."

The artist never says no because without the labels, the artist will never be heard. The labels never give the artist what they are worth because they simply dont have to.

And now... when the Labels start to feel the pinch of a little piracy, I say it serves them right. They're sales are still good and they make a crap load of money off of one thing, having money to spend on the hard work of "other" people.

Artist make a lot of money, but you have to sell MILLIONS of records sometimes before you are even done paying off a bogus loan the label threw you to do it.

The money made for most artist is in Live performances and filling up stadiums of people for a single event. Seriously. Its usually not from sales unless you happen to be Madonna or somebody with a name.

To me, live has always been a better experience and something a mp3 will never reproduce. Support the artist by going to the show... dont feel bad about the labels getting screwed, they've been screwing other people since the beginning.

If the labels want to survive in this modern day and age, they need to change they're marketing strategies and give a little more back to the Artist they're selling to the masses.

P2P isn't going anywhere. It's like giving the world a formula for clean energy and then telling them they cant use it. They have to find a way to incorporate that into they're plans instead of fighting it.

I think its bullshit that I can record music off of a radio and no one comes to my house to take my radio, but if I download it on a computer, there goes my gear!

Or movies, I have subscriptions to nearly every movie channel available and can record nearly any recent movie at almost any time with on demand and what not. But if I download that SAME movie, suddenly I'm a criminal and need to go to jail.

BS

This issue upsets and disgusts me. Its people in power whining because they dont have as much control as they used to. More and more Artist are going independent and even producing albums to be downloaded directly from they're "own" servers for reasonable prices.

I hate rich man mentality.

Not so cheers:(
pro

Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 4:53 am

deadrising wrote:

Nothing can stop file sharing, unless someone shuts the internet down.

I hope you realise this is EXACTLY what they are working towards.

All they need to do is get the requisite laws in place, first they throw out people's rights over their own property, then they lean on the ISPs and privacy laws can be kissed goodbye. Finally, with both those in place, censorship blankets the whole net.

You'll have ISPs blocking the ip of anywhere that's not a major financial contributor, sniffing your packets based on download traffic, and shutting down anyone transferring large amounts of data that are NOT coming from a recognised major media site. Anywhere that tries to post the truth will be denied membership in their elite "club" and so will be shut down, because the ISPs will cut off their access.

The internet will cease to exist as we know it, and hey, suddenly we all live in China!

The hardest part will be doing anything about it once the generation who didn't grow up with the internet as it is now, but instead only know the internet as "that thing you buy stuff on, that you can pay a little more for to access even more sites" become the majority, after that point, we'll have no chance of disturbing the status quo.

Next step after that, they can start extending the laws to cover solid purchases, prohibiting you from trading in your stuff (Several in the gaming industry have already stated that services for trading in your games should not be provided by stores, as it hinders the publishers' profits - a baseless claim) so you'll be a criminal if you sell anything you own. And eventually we'll live in a world where everything you ever possess in your life is on loan from these companies, and it all goes back to them when you die.

Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 12:57 pm

So,
Will this mean that i can't make personal backups of my DVD's and i also won't be able to put my music on my Ipod? This is BS. Wasn't it Radiohead that torrented their new album and make almost 8 bucks per "CD"? That's fantastic.

Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 7:15 pm

I just wonder what Gary's plans are for IsoHunt if this bill gets passed. Will it be relocated to another country? Will it shut down?

I'll keep watching IsoHunt for updates on this story. I trust you'll keep us informed of any significant developments.

Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2008 3:38 am

This whole subject on file sharing laws boggles my mind. If I were to record a music cd onto a cassette tape, like we did in the 1980's, and give it to my best friend, would that be illegal ? I see no difference in my mind. As long as I don't start selling them on the street corner, I see nothing wrong with it.

Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2008 10:58 am

deadrising wrote:

Nothing can stop file sharing, unless someone shuts the internet down.

Well to be exact, its not file sharing they are going after, its copy-righted material.

I swear ever since the Harper Tories muscled their way into power all they have been doing are power trips into areas which were already resolved, not a big issue, or will pull favour to strengthen his platform. He doesn't see the big picture here, and if he gets his way he'll actually end up screwing us all instead of helping as he is trying to make us believe.

Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2008 8:39 pm

Tuddley3 wrote:

If I were to record a music cd onto a cassette tape, like we did in the 1980's, and give it to my best friend, would that be illegal ?

And this is the thing - when recordable media first came out, the studios demanded they outlaw them, claiming that if it were allowed, the industry would collapse completely in a few years...

....great prediction, huh? Really a shame that the entire music and film industries went bankrupt in the 70s, wasn't it? Oh, wait.....

I still think the idea put forward some time ago, and most recently popularised in the novel in Little Brother has some merits, of an ISP becoming the label for a bunch of artists, and allowing free sharing of any of their artists' products by their users, with the ISP's profits heading to the people they represent. In the short term it'd be a loss for those signed up with it, but in the long run, once subscriptions built up, you stand to make far more over time. Certainly more than what you get after the record companies finish screwing you out of 99% of the money that's rightfully yours.

Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 10:00 am

Oh hey I got so excited when I saw isoHunt mentioned in my newspaper (which it seems I am not allowed to post a link too...) I registered to wave hello!

I'm so ready to just boycott buying any music, dvds or concert tickets etc. if they start bullying their own customers. I thought their works of art were gifts to us? No it's for making money! Give us money!!! They need to find new creative ways to distribute and still make money, instead of just sueing us. That's childish. I can easily just not buy anything from them, which will make my wallet stay fat while theirs will shrink! So who do you think would last longer?