[A2k] So what's in the new Canadian copyright bill? Online Discussion With Prof. Jeremy deBeer, Wed. June 18, 12:00 - 1:00pm

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So what's in the new copyright bill?
Globe and Mail Update
June 17, 2008 at 10:43 AM EDT


So what does the proposed copyright legislation, Bill C61, have in
store for you? Aside from not being able to download free music any
more, it puts all sorts of limitations on intellectual property and
how it can be used.

The Canadians' worst fear is that the bill has been unduly influenced
by the powerful U.S. music, movie and TV lobby, which managed to get
the U.S. Congress to pass the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which
gives corporations such as the music industry unprecedented powers to
investigate and enforce copyright law. Among other things, the DMCA is
unclear about the concept of "fair use," which Canada calls "fair
dealing," which allows use of content for purposes such as satire.

To figure out what's in the bill =97 the good as well as the bad =97 we've
asked University of Ottawa law professor Jeremy deBeer to discuss it
with our readers on Wednesday, June 18, from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. Join us
then or leave a question in advance.
The bill proposes to drop the personal penalty for infringement from
$20,000 per case to $500; however, the bill keeps the provision that
anyone who has cracked or avoided digital-rights management controls
is liable for a fine of $20,000 per infringement.

And how will the bill reconcile itself with another proposed law, the
secretive Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), which would
allow border guards to seize devices that they suspect of containing
material that infringes copyright, and would force Internet service
providers to reveal the identities of suspected infringers without a
court order?

To figure out what's in the bill =97 the good as well as the bad =97 we've
asked University of Ottawa law professor Jeremy deBeer to discuss it
with our readers on Wednesday, June 18, at 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.

Prof. deBeer specializes in classic and intellectual property law, and
the intersection between property, IP and torts, and is a member of
the law faculty's law and technology group. He has worked for the
Department of Justice and as legal counsel to the Copyright Board of
Canada.

He has written about the constitutional implications of copyrights,
the role of copyrights in the music and entertainment industries and
the notion of balance in copyright and patent law.

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