[Ecommerce] US Targets Canadian Rejection of DMCA

Mon May 2 10:53:02 2005

Thanks to Seth Johnson for pointer.

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: US Targets Canadian Rejection of DMCA
Date: Mon, 02 May 2005 01:36:23 -0400
From: Seth Johnson <seth.johnson@RealMeasures.dyndns.org>
Organization: Real Measures

> http://yro.slashdot.org/yro/05/05/01/2038233.shtml?tid=3D95&tid=3D17
> http://www.michaelgeist.ca/index.php?blog_disp_vars=3Ddays&blog_date=3D20=
050429&day=3D29&month=3D04&year=3D2005&blog_arch=3D2&v=3D99

> http://yro.slashdot.org/yro/05/05/01/2038233.shtml?tid=3D95&tid=3D17

U.S. Rejects Canadian Rejection of DMCA
Posted by timothy on Sunday May 01, @05:00PM
from the spy-vs-mountie dept.

P Starrson (prstarrson@yahoo.com) writes " Slashdot readers may
recall that last month Canadian policy makers rejected the DMCA
for Canada
(http://yro.slashdot.org/yro/05/03/24/2243232.shtml?tid=3D123).

Not so fast apparently -- the U.S. Trade Representative has released
the annual Section 301 report
(http://www.ustr.gov/Document_Library/Reports_Publications/2005/2005_Specia=
l_301/Section_Index.html)
which each year tells the rest of the world that they need
stronger intellectual property protection. This year Canada is a
particular target -- the U.S. plans to conduct a special review
of Canadian policies and explicitly rejects Canada's rejection of
the DMCA. A good summary on what this means from Canadian law
professor Michael Geist
(http://www.michaelgeist.ca/index.php?blog_disp_vars=3Ddays&blog_date=3D200=
50429&day=3D29&month=3D04&year=3D2005&blog_arch=3D2&v=3D99)."

---

> http://www.michaelgeist.ca/index.php?blog_disp_vars=3Ddays&blog_date=3D20=
050429&day=3D29&month=3D04&year=3D2005&blog_arch=3D2&v=3D99

U.S. Government Objects to Canadian Copyright Reform Plan

The U.S. Trade Representative has issued its annual report on
global intellectual property protection, known as the Special 301
Report. Once again, Canada finds itself in good company on the
list (a more interesting list would consist of countries who meet
the U.S. standard for IP protection).

This year's report is most notable for its comment on Canada's
copyright reform plan, announced just last month. The USTR has
the following to say about Canada:

"Canada is being maintained on the Special 301 Watch List in
2005, and the United States will conduct an out-of-cycle review
to monitor Canada=E2=80=99s progress on IPR issues during the upcoming
year. We urge Canada to ratify and implement the WIPO Internet
Treaties as soon as possible, and to reform its copyright law so
that it provides adequate and effective protection of copyrighted
works in the digital environment. The Canadian court decision
finding that making files available for copying on a peer-to-peer
file sharing service cannot give rise to liability for
infringement under existing Canadian copyright law underscores
the need for Canada to join nearly all other developed countries
in implementing the WIPO Internet Treaties. The U.S. copyright
industry is concerned about proposed copyright legislation
regarding technological protection measures and internet service
provider (ISP) liability, which if passed, would appear to be a
departure from the requirements of the WIPO Internet Treaties as
well as the international standards adopted by most OECD
countries in the world. The United States urges Canada to adopt
legislation that is consistent with the WIPO Internet Treaties
and is in line with the international standards of most developed
countries. Specifically, we encourage Canada to join the strong
international consensus by adopting copyright legislation that
provides comprehensive protection to copyrighted works in the
digital environment, by outlawing trafficking in devices to
circumvent technological protection measures, and by establishing
a =E2=80=9Cnotice-and-takedown=E2=80=9D system to encourage cooperation by =
ISPs
in combating online infringements. It also is imperative that
Canada improve its enforcement system so that it can stop the
extensive trade in counterfeit and pirated products, as well as
curb the amount of transshipped and transiting goods in Canada.
The United States also urges Canada to enact legislation that
would provide a stronger border enforcement system by giving its
customs officers greater authority to seize products suspected of
being pirated or counterfeit. We also encourage greater
cooperation between Customs and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
in enforcement matters, and encourage Canada to provide
additional resources and training to its customs officers and
domestic law enforcement personnel. Canada's border measures
continue to be a serious concern for IP owners. With respect to
data protection, we recognize that Canada has taken positive
steps to improve its data protection regime. The U.S.
pharmaceutical industry is concerned about certain aspects of the
proposed regulations. The United States will use the out-of-cycle
review to monitor Canada=E2=80=99s progress in providing an adequate and
effective IPR protection regime that is consistent with its
international obligations and advanced level of economic
development, including improved border enforcement and full
implementation of data protection."

What to take away from this? Not surprisingly, Canada's balanced
proposal for copyright reform does not leave the U.S. copyright
industries particularly happy. It isn't just that they want
Canada to implement the WIPO Internet treaties, they want us to
implement a Canadian version of the DMCA. They interestingly
question whether the Canadian plan meets WIPO standards given the
exclusion of devices from our anti-circumvention provisions. I
think a plain reading of the WIPO Internet treaties suggests that
it does. Meeting the U.S. standard is, of course, an entirely
different matter.

Further, the U.S. also objects to the proposed notice and notice
system for ISPs. Again, there is no surprise here. Notice and
takedown may be completely ineffective, but it is the U.S. system
so presumably they would like everyone to adopt it.

This represents the first shot across the Canadian bow. If
history is any indicator, the copyright reform plan is going to
face an onslaught of U.S.-backed lobbying for stronger
protections in the months ahead.

One side note for those new to these issues -- the references to
data protection do not refer to privacy, which is not a big issue
for the U.S. these days.

posted on Fri. Apr. 29/05 05:51:20 AM

--
Manon Anne Ress
manon.ress@cptech.org,
www.cptech.org

Consumer Project on Technology in Washington, DC PO Box 19367,
Washington, DC 20036, USA Tel.:  +1.202.387.8030, fax: +1.202.234.5176

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2100, 1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland. Tel: +41 22 791 6727

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