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May 2008
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Revamped copyright law targets electronic devices

Vito Pilieci, Canwest News Service
May 26, 2008

OTTAWA – The federal government is secretly negotiating an agreement to revamp international copyright laws which could make the information on Canadian iPods, laptop computers or other personal electronic devices illegal and greatly increase the difficulty of travelling with such devices.

The deal could also impose strict regulations on Internet service providers, forcing those companies to hand over customer information without a court order.

Called the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), the new plan would see Canada join other countries, including the United States and members of the European Union, to form an international coalition against copyright infringement.

The agreement is being structured much like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) except it will create rules and regulations regarding private copying and copyright laws.

Federal trade agreements do not require parliamentary approval.

The deal would create a international regulator that could turn border guards and other public security personnel into copyright police. The security officials would be charged with checking laptops, iPods and even cellular phones for content that “infringes” on copyright laws, such as ripped CDs and movies.

The guards would also be responsible for determining what is infringing content and what is not.

…

On top of these enforcement efforts, ACTA also proposes imposing new sanctions on Internet service providers. It would force them to hand over personal information pertaining to “claimed infringement” or “alleged infringers” – users who may be transmitting or sharing copyrighted content over the Internet.

Currently, rights holders must collect evidence to prove someone is sharing copyrighted material over the Internet. That evidence is then presented to a judge who issues a court order telling the Internet service provider to identify the customer.

The process can produce lengthy delays.

It is expected the new agreement will be tabled at July’s meeting of G8 nations in Tokyo, Japan.

Fewer has been following the progress of ACTA and has exhausted every avenue at his disposal to gain insight into its details.

He said Friday’s leak of a “discussion paper” which outlines the priorities of the agreement is the first glimpse anyone has into ACTA.

“We knew this existed, we filed an Access to Information request for this but all it provided us with was the title. All the rest of it was blacked out,” he said. “Those negotiations can take place behind closed doors. At the end of the day we may be provided with something that has been negotiated which is a `fait accompli’ in which civil society gets no opportunity to critique it.”

…

In October, International Trade Minister David Emerson announced Canada would participate in ACTA’s creation. The initiative was originally aimed at stopping large-scale piracy, such as printing operations that make thousands of copies of movies that are still in theatres.

“We are seeking to counter global piracy and counterfeiting more effectively,” said Emerson at the time. “This government is working both at home and internationally to protect the intellectual property rights of Canadian artists, creators, inventors and investors.”

The new document is reported to be drafted by the Office of the United States Trade Representative.

Full Story

This entry was posted on Monday, May 26th, 2008 at 11:24 pm and is filed under law, media, prohibitions, sovereignty. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.