P2P legal in canada
article
it looks like a good news/bad news thing
good news = RIAA is gonna be even more pissed at canada.
bad = surcharge on iPod.
but i think this is how it should be handled in the U.S.
it looks like a good news/bad news thing
good news = RIAA is gonna be even more pissed at canada.
bad = surcharge on iPod.
but i think this is how it should be handled in the U.S.
Quote:
Canada deems P2P downloading legal
Last modified: December 12, 2003, 11:45 AM PST
By John Borland
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
In a ruling released Friday, copyright regulators in Canada said downloading copyrighted music from peer-to-peer networks appears to be legal under Canadian law but that uploading is still prohibited.
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.
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.
An RIAA representative declined comment until the group had read the decision.
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.
Canada deems P2P downloading legal
Last modified: December 12, 2003, 11:45 AM PST
By John Borland
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
In a ruling released Friday, copyright regulators in Canada said downloading copyrighted music from peer-to-peer networks appears to be legal under Canadian law but that uploading is still prohibited.
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.
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.
An RIAA representative declined comment until the group had read the decision.
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.
Comments
A spindle of 50 CDRs was $25. Government levy was an additional $25.
Doubling your price to compensate musicians for potential piracy.
This presumes every burner is a criminal, and that the only use for CDRs is other people's intellectual property.
If you're a content creator (musician, multimedia/video artist, pure data backup), despite the fact that it may be your own copyrightable material you are burning onto these levied media, you are in fact being forced to pay into the fund (which you may not be a recipient from).
Schools, government data banks and certain other exemptible groups can apply for refunds of the levy, but otherwise the presumption of innocence in data backup is now gone.
Screwed up, in my opinion (as a multimedia producer creating CDROMs since 1990).
This decision, while interesting from the "download ok/upload bad" perspective, reinforces the existing presumption that CDR (now iPod) users 'owe record companies and artists' regardless of origin of copyright, or other legitimate media usage.
jackasses.
Originally posted by alcimedes
the truly annoying part is that my iPod has only my MP3's on it as is.
jackasses.
JACKASSES? HECK YEAH!
I pay for my songs. I buy CDs when they cost me upwards of $40 (because they come from overseas in limited supplies). Why am I paying for some teenager who wants to steal content???? I pity you Canadians. What's the motivation for buying content when you think you are already paying for it in taxes on products? Besides, it isn't as if the iPod or CDR taxes actually pay for music creation- they don't raise enough money to replace the revenue stream. This just sucks for you and I feel bad for anyone who gets hit with an extra tax for something that they aren't doing.
Originally posted by curiousuburb
This presumes every burner is a criminal, and that the only use for CDRs is other people's intellectual property.
In contrast to say, backing up your hard drive or critical files...
Originally posted by Eugene
So that means Canadians are going to make day-trips across the border to buy their portable music players...
Trade you an IPOD for affordable drugs!
Originally posted by Argento
Trade you an IPOD for affordable drugs!
I'm in a family full of physicians. I get lots of free drugs, in neat little sample size packages too.