By SLJ Staff -- School Library Journal, 6/13/2008
The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) has added several Web sites to Great Web Sites for Kids, its online resource of hundreds of links to commendable Web sites for children.
Great Web Sites for Kids features links to valuable Web sites, organized by subject headings such as animals; literature and languages; mathematics and computers; the arts; and history and biography. There is also a special section with sites of interest to parents, caregivers, and teachers and an area devoted to sites in Spanish. The ALSC Great Web Sites for Kids Committee maintains and updates the site.
“This spring, committee members reviewed approximately 100 Web sites for children aged birth to 14, in search of sites that are outstanding in content and conception,” says Karen Lemmons, cochair of the committee and a library media specialist at Howe Elementary School in Detroit. To qualify for Great Web sites for Kids, a site is put through a “rigorous evaluation and voting process by the committee before being deemed ‘great’ and added to the GWS page.”
ALSC’s Committee voted to add the following sites in spring 2008:
All Safe Sites
Amazing Space
Bnetsavvy
Debra Frasier
EMuseum at Minnesota State University
Ethan’s Bookshelf
FBI for Kids
Fun – Family Fun & Entertainment
Gymnasium for the Brain
Johnnie's Math Page
Kids Know It Network
Mary Jo Rhodes
Ology
TeachPeaceNow
Webrangers
The World of VictorYoung Adult (& Kids) Books Central
Members of the 2008 Great Web Sites for Kids Committee are: Lemmons; Becki Bishop, co-chair, Campbell Court Elementary School, Bassett, VA.; Amy Brown, Worthington Libraries, Columbus, OH; Robin Gibson, Granville, OH; Diana McFarland, Brunswick, ME; Carla Morris, Provo City (Utah) Library; Marilyn Sobotincic, Medina County (Ohio) District Library; Terrell Young, Washington State University, Richland.
The complete listing of great sites and selection criteria can be found at www.ala.org/greatsites
Friday, June 13, 2008
PROVINCE LAUNCHES BC150 COMMEMORATIVE STAMP AND BOOK
Office of the Premier
Ministry of Tourism, Sport and the Arts
2008OTP0150-000893
June 13, 2008
VICTORIA – Another chapter in B.C.’s history was launched today with the unveiling of a new stamp and a book commemorating the province’s first 150 years, Premier Gordon Campbell announced.
“British Columbia: Spirit of the People” and this Canada Post stamp depicting the Gold Rush in British Columbia represent the achievements, triumphs and challenges that have shaped this great province we call home,” said Premier Campbell, who wrote the book’s foreword, The First 150 Years. “I want to thank author Jean Barman and stamp illustrator Adam Rogers for capturing the history and spirit of British Columbia and marking the 150th anniversary of the founding of British Columbia as a Crown Colony.”
The 52¢ stamp, illustrated by Adam Rogers, features a close-up image of a pioneer panning for gold. It represents the Gold Rush, a piece of provincial history that brought tens of thousands of people from all over the world to British Columbia in 1858. The BC150 commemorative stamp will be available to the public on Aug. 1, 2008.
“We are proud to mark the celebrations surrounding the 150th anniversary of British Columbia with a commemorative stamp,” said Bob Waite, chairman of the Stamp Advisory Committee and senior vice president, Corporate Social Responsibility at Canada Post. “Through the stamp program, we celebrate our country, our people, our heroes, our achievements and who we are as a nation. With this stamp, all Canadians can share in this milestone. Congratulations B.C.”
“British Columbia: Spirit of the People” was written by noted B.C. historian and bestselling author Jean Barman. Five thousand copies of the book will be distributed to schools, libraries and communities across the province over the next few months. The nearly 200-page book was written, published and printed in British Columbia and is available in bookstores throughout the province.
“British Columbia: Spirit of the People” is a book about us. Blending pictures and words, it tells our story,” said Barman. “We live in a province of tremendous beauty and diversity that is home to people committed to making this special place one of the very best on earth.”
“BC150 is a chance for us all to explore and celebrate what it means to be British Columbians,” said Tourism, Sport and the Arts Minister Stan Hagen. “The BC150 commemorative stamp and book will help showcase a piece of our province’s history, First Nations heritage, rich cultural diversity and widespread accomplishments to the rest of Canada and the world.”
BC150 is a celebration of the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Crown Colony of British Columbia in 1858. For more information BC150 events and programs, please visit www.bc150.ca.
Media contact:
Bridgitte Anderson
Press Secretary
Office of the Premier
604 307-7177
Victoria Klassen
Communications Manager
Ministry of Tourism, Sport and the Arts
250 387-2799
For more information on government services or to subscribe to the Province’s news feeds using RSS, visit the Province’s website at www.gov.bc.ca.
Ministry of Tourism, Sport and the Arts
2008OTP0150-000893
June 13, 2008
VICTORIA – Another chapter in B.C.’s history was launched today with the unveiling of a new stamp and a book commemorating the province’s first 150 years, Premier Gordon Campbell announced.
“British Columbia: Spirit of the People” and this Canada Post stamp depicting the Gold Rush in British Columbia represent the achievements, triumphs and challenges that have shaped this great province we call home,” said Premier Campbell, who wrote the book’s foreword, The First 150 Years. “I want to thank author Jean Barman and stamp illustrator Adam Rogers for capturing the history and spirit of British Columbia and marking the 150th anniversary of the founding of British Columbia as a Crown Colony.”
The 52¢ stamp, illustrated by Adam Rogers, features a close-up image of a pioneer panning for gold. It represents the Gold Rush, a piece of provincial history that brought tens of thousands of people from all over the world to British Columbia in 1858. The BC150 commemorative stamp will be available to the public on Aug. 1, 2008.
“We are proud to mark the celebrations surrounding the 150th anniversary of British Columbia with a commemorative stamp,” said Bob Waite, chairman of the Stamp Advisory Committee and senior vice president, Corporate Social Responsibility at Canada Post. “Through the stamp program, we celebrate our country, our people, our heroes, our achievements and who we are as a nation. With this stamp, all Canadians can share in this milestone. Congratulations B.C.”
“British Columbia: Spirit of the People” was written by noted B.C. historian and bestselling author Jean Barman. Five thousand copies of the book will be distributed to schools, libraries and communities across the province over the next few months. The nearly 200-page book was written, published and printed in British Columbia and is available in bookstores throughout the province.
“British Columbia: Spirit of the People” is a book about us. Blending pictures and words, it tells our story,” said Barman. “We live in a province of tremendous beauty and diversity that is home to people committed to making this special place one of the very best on earth.”
“BC150 is a chance for us all to explore and celebrate what it means to be British Columbians,” said Tourism, Sport and the Arts Minister Stan Hagen. “The BC150 commemorative stamp and book will help showcase a piece of our province’s history, First Nations heritage, rich cultural diversity and widespread accomplishments to the rest of Canada and the world.”
BC150 is a celebration of the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Crown Colony of British Columbia in 1858. For more information BC150 events and programs, please visit www.bc150.ca.
Media contact:
Bridgitte Anderson
Press Secretary
Office of the Premier
604 307-7177
Victoria Klassen
Communications Manager
Ministry of Tourism, Sport and the Arts
250 387-2799
For more information on government services or to subscribe to the Province’s news feeds using RSS, visit the Province’s website at www.gov.bc.ca.
THE 2008 KIDS AND FAMILY READING REPORT™
THE 2008 KIDS AND FAMILY READING REPORT™CONDUCTED BY YANKELOVICH AND SCHOLASTIC
KIDS AGE 5-17 BELIEVE TECHNOLOGY WILL SUPPLEMENT – NOT REPLACE – BOOK READING AND SAY THEY WILL ALWAYS WANT TO READ BOOKS PRINTED ON PAPER
Tweens and Teens who Participate in Online Activities Are More Likely to Read Books for Fun Daily
Copyright bill's fine print a disturbing read
Federal strategy appears to mask rules that will reshape Canadians' rights over personal property
Michael Geist
Special to the Sun
Friday, June 13, 2008
In 2004, the Supreme Court of Canada issued a landmark copyright decision in a battle between the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Ontario legal bar association, and CCH Canadian, a leading legal publisher.
The court was faced with a dispute over an old technology -- photocopying in a law library -- and in a unanimous decision it ruled that the underlying purpose of copyright law is to serve the public interest. That interest, reasoned Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, is best served by balancing both user rights and creator rights.
On Thursday, Industry Minister Jim Prentice and Canadian Heritage Minister Josee Verner delivered what amounts to a stinging rebuke to the Supreme Court's copyright vision of public interest and balance. After months of internal discussions (though precious little public consultation), the government unveiled its much-anticipated copyright reform bill.
Casting aside the concerns of major business, education, and consumer groups, the bill seeks to dramatically tilt Canadian law toward greater enforcement and restrictions on the use of digital content, leading Liberal industry critic Scott Brison to warn that it could result in a "police state."
Prentice's strategy appears to have been to include a series of headline-grabbing provisions that would attract the support of the Canadian public and simultaneously mask rules that will reshape Canadians' rights over their personal property.
Accordingly, the bill includes a time-shifting provision that legalizes recording of television programs, a private copying of music provision that allows consumers to copy music onto their iPods, and a format-shifting provision that permits transferring content from analog to digital formats.
While those provisions sound attractive, Canadians would do well to read the fine print. The new rules are subject to a host of limitations -- Canadians can't retain recorded programs and backing up DVDs is not permitted -- that lessen their attractiveness. More worrisome are the "anti-circumvention provisions," which undermine not only these new consumer rights but also hold the prospect of locking Canadians out of their own digital content.
The law creates a blanket prohibition on picking the digital locks (often referred to as circumventing technological protection measures) that frequently accompany consumer products such as CDs, DVDs, and electronic books. In other words, Canadians that seek that to circumvent those products -- even if the Copyright Act permits their intended use -- will now violate the law.
While this sounds technical, circumvention is not uncommon. Under the Prentice bill, transferring music from a copy-protected product to an iPod could violate the law. So too could efforts to play a region-coded DVD from a non-Canadian region or students' attempts to copy-and-paste content from some electronic books.
The bill includes a few limited circumvention exceptions for privacy, encryption research, interoperable computer programs and security, yet the exceptions are largely illusory since the software programs needed to pick the digital lock in order to protect privacy or engage in research are banned.
Canadians should therefore check the fine print again -- the law suggests that they can protect their privacy, but renders the distribution of the tools to do so illegal.
The need to read the fine print does not end there -- a new statutory damage award of $500 for personal use infringement applies to music downloading that many believe is legal, while it does not cover uploading files onto peer-to-peer networks or even posting videos to YouTube. Similarly, a provision designed to allow librarians to create digital copies for patrons suffers from an exception that requires the digital copy to self-destruct within five days, effectively turning librarians into digital locksmiths.
Had Prentice and Verner respected the Supreme Court's emphasis on balance and the public interest, they could have easily avoided this one-sided approach.
Canada's earlier copyright bill, which died on the order paper in 2005, along with the approach in countries such as New Zealand, has identified a more balanced framework that preserves user rights by only prohibiting circumvention where the underlying purpose is to infringe copyright.
That approach ensures that the law targets commercial piracy rather than consumer property.
Instead, their self-described "made in Canada" solution actually looks an awful lot like the much-criticized U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Once Canadians read the fine print on this bill, many may demand that the government go back to the drawing board.
Michael Geist holds the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law at the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law. He created the Fair Copyright for Canada Facebook group that has over 42,000 members and advocates for balanced copyright reform. He can be reached at mgeist@uottawa.ca or online at www.michaelgeist.ca.
Michael Geist
Special to the Sun
Friday, June 13, 2008
In 2004, the Supreme Court of Canada issued a landmark copyright decision in a battle between the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Ontario legal bar association, and CCH Canadian, a leading legal publisher.
The court was faced with a dispute over an old technology -- photocopying in a law library -- and in a unanimous decision it ruled that the underlying purpose of copyright law is to serve the public interest. That interest, reasoned Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, is best served by balancing both user rights and creator rights.
On Thursday, Industry Minister Jim Prentice and Canadian Heritage Minister Josee Verner delivered what amounts to a stinging rebuke to the Supreme Court's copyright vision of public interest and balance. After months of internal discussions (though precious little public consultation), the government unveiled its much-anticipated copyright reform bill.
Casting aside the concerns of major business, education, and consumer groups, the bill seeks to dramatically tilt Canadian law toward greater enforcement and restrictions on the use of digital content, leading Liberal industry critic Scott Brison to warn that it could result in a "police state."
Prentice's strategy appears to have been to include a series of headline-grabbing provisions that would attract the support of the Canadian public and simultaneously mask rules that will reshape Canadians' rights over their personal property.
Accordingly, the bill includes a time-shifting provision that legalizes recording of television programs, a private copying of music provision that allows consumers to copy music onto their iPods, and a format-shifting provision that permits transferring content from analog to digital formats.
While those provisions sound attractive, Canadians would do well to read the fine print. The new rules are subject to a host of limitations -- Canadians can't retain recorded programs and backing up DVDs is not permitted -- that lessen their attractiveness. More worrisome are the "anti-circumvention provisions," which undermine not only these new consumer rights but also hold the prospect of locking Canadians out of their own digital content.
The law creates a blanket prohibition on picking the digital locks (often referred to as circumventing technological protection measures) that frequently accompany consumer products such as CDs, DVDs, and electronic books. In other words, Canadians that seek that to circumvent those products -- even if the Copyright Act permits their intended use -- will now violate the law.
While this sounds technical, circumvention is not uncommon. Under the Prentice bill, transferring music from a copy-protected product to an iPod could violate the law. So too could efforts to play a region-coded DVD from a non-Canadian region or students' attempts to copy-and-paste content from some electronic books.
The bill includes a few limited circumvention exceptions for privacy, encryption research, interoperable computer programs and security, yet the exceptions are largely illusory since the software programs needed to pick the digital lock in order to protect privacy or engage in research are banned.
Canadians should therefore check the fine print again -- the law suggests that they can protect their privacy, but renders the distribution of the tools to do so illegal.
The need to read the fine print does not end there -- a new statutory damage award of $500 for personal use infringement applies to music downloading that many believe is legal, while it does not cover uploading files onto peer-to-peer networks or even posting videos to YouTube. Similarly, a provision designed to allow librarians to create digital copies for patrons suffers from an exception that requires the digital copy to self-destruct within five days, effectively turning librarians into digital locksmiths.
Had Prentice and Verner respected the Supreme Court's emphasis on balance and the public interest, they could have easily avoided this one-sided approach.
Canada's earlier copyright bill, which died on the order paper in 2005, along with the approach in countries such as New Zealand, has identified a more balanced framework that preserves user rights by only prohibiting circumvention where the underlying purpose is to infringe copyright.
That approach ensures that the law targets commercial piracy rather than consumer property.
Instead, their self-described "made in Canada" solution actually looks an awful lot like the much-criticized U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Once Canadians read the fine print on this bill, many may demand that the government go back to the drawing board.
Michael Geist holds the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law at the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law. He created the Fair Copyright for Canada Facebook group that has over 42,000 members and advocates for balanced copyright reform. He can be reached at mgeist@uottawa.ca or online at www.michaelgeist.ca.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
New copyright bill aims hefty penalties
C-61 An Act to amend the Copyright Act
http://www.parl.gc.ca/legisinfo/index.asp?Language=E&Session=15&query=5466&List=toc
Sarah Schmidt
Canwest News Service
Thursday, June 12, 2008
OTTAWA - Consumers will be locked out of some digital content they have already paid for and face penalties up to $20,000 if they try to get around any digital lock to copy CDs or DVDs for themselves under Canada's proposed new copyright bill.
The federal government tabled the legislation in the House of Commons on Thursday, dubbing it as a "Made in Canada" solution to stamp out online piracy.
"This is truly a win-win for Canadian consumers who use digital technology and for everyone who creates material that becomes digitally accessible," said Industry Minister Jim Prentice.
But just as soon as the government unveiled the details, the proposal split members in the arts and business communities over whether the hard line approach is the right way to deal with consumers in the digital age. And some rebranded it as an American duplicate.
Only in cases where companies do not put a digital lock on their material will consumers be allowed to make a backup copy of a legally purchased CD or DVD, or transfer it to an MP3 player or another device for personal use. And while the new bill proposes to make expressly legal the "time shifting" of television programs through widely used personal video recorders, there is a catch.
The shows cannot be kept indefinitely to build a library of recordings, and if broadcasters block the ability to digitally record certain shows through broadcast flags, consumers will not be allowed to get around that lock legally. The legislation also proposes a ban against tools to circumvent digital locks.
"The effect of the digital lock provisions is to render these rights virtually meaningless in the digital environment because anything that is locked down cannot be copied," said Michael Geist, a law professor specializing in digital copyright at the University of Ottawa.
Prentice defended the approach, saying it strikes the right balance in changing times.
"Think about it in these terms: 10 years ago, the first portable MP3 player hit the market. The 1998 version bragged about storing up to one hour of music. Today's players can hold thousands of songs, videos and photographs," said Prentice, pointing out Canada's copyright law was last amended in 1997.
In cases where people download copyrighted songs or other digitized material, penalties will be capped at $500. But in cases where teenagers legally purchase songs online, then e-mail them to a friend or share them through a peer-to-peer service, this transgression will still carry a maximum penalty of $20,000 per copyrighted song.
Duncan McKie, president of the Canadian Independent Record Production Association, was quick to praise the government for starting "on the right road. I think they've addressed the right issues. I think they've been sensitive to everyone's concerns."
He added the music industry isn't keen to take regular consumers to court to collect damages. The industry is more "concerned with the most egregious violators, people who try to make a business out of the trade of illicit and infringing materials. I'm not really concerned about people in their basements sharing a few files here and there."
The Canadian Record Industry Association, the Canadian Music Publishers Association and the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists also applauded the draft legislation.
But the Canadian Music Creators Coalition slammed the bill, characterizing it as "an American-style approach to copyright. It's all locks and lawsuits," according to Safwan Javed, coalition member and drummer for Wide Mouth Mason.
"Rather than building a made-in-Canada proposal to help musicians get paid, the government has chosen to import American-style legislation that says the solution to the music industry's problems is suing our fans," said Javed.
The coalition of nearly 200 Canadian acts includes household names Avril Lavigne, Sarah McLachlan, Broken Social Scene, Matthew Good, Billy Talent, Sloan, Chantal Kreviazuk, Sum 41 and Sam Roberts.
The minister was set to table the legislation last December, but pulled it amid concerns the Canadian legislation too closely resembled the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act, recognized as the toughest legislation worldwide. Like the Canadian proposal, the U.S. law takes a hard line circumventing digital locks, even for legally purchased content for personal use.
If passed into law, Internet service providers in Canada will get a reprieve, an area where Canada deviates from provisions under U.S. law.
The American legislation requires ISPs to block access to allegedly infringing material or remove it from their system when they receive a notification claiming infringement from a copyright holder or their agent. The proposed legislation will require ISPs to forward a notice of infringement to the subscriber, a so-called "notice and notice" system already widely used voluntarily in Canada.
But Geist says an absence of a U.S.-style "notice and takedown" system under Canadian copyright law could be meaningless if Canada signs on to the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). Prentice confirmed Thursday that the government is working to reach such a deal with international trading partners.
An ACTA discussion paper, recently leaked on the Internet, could require ISPs to filter out pirated material, hand over the identities of customers accused of copyright infringement, and restrict the use of online privacy tools.
The fate of the Canadian legislation was in doubt on the same day it was tabled, as opposition politicians lined up to question key aspects of the proposed legislation. The government will require support from some opposition Members of Parliament for the bill to become law. It could also die on the order paper if an election is held before it's fully debated.
Liberal heritage critic Denis Coderre suggested the maximum penalty of $500 for downloading copyrighted songs may not protect creators. Besides, he said, enforceability is a real problem. "Are we going to have cyber police now? How are they going to manage to go and keep respecting privacy in the house."
Charlie Angus, digital affairs for the NDP, said the digital lock provisions around personal use pose a real problem. "The fact is this bill was not created with any serious consultation with any of the stakeholders, except, as far as we could tell, the American lobby interests."
The proposed legislation creates specific education and research provisions, which will allow teachers and students to use material they find online as long as it's used for educational or training purposes. They'll also be able to use copyright material in lessons conducted over the Internet.
Librarians will also be to digitize print material and send a copy electronically to a client through an interlibrary loan. The client, in turn, can print a copy on their computer.
"This is a huge benefit for educational institutions, and certainly the publishers and authors will be disappointed by the breadth of it," said Mark Hayes, a partner in the Intellectual Property Group at the law firm of Blake, Cassels & Graydon.
http://www.parl.gc.ca/legisinfo/index.asp?Language=E&Session=15&query=5466&List=toc
Sarah Schmidt
Canwest News Service
Thursday, June 12, 2008
OTTAWA - Consumers will be locked out of some digital content they have already paid for and face penalties up to $20,000 if they try to get around any digital lock to copy CDs or DVDs for themselves under Canada's proposed new copyright bill.
The federal government tabled the legislation in the House of Commons on Thursday, dubbing it as a "Made in Canada" solution to stamp out online piracy.
"This is truly a win-win for Canadian consumers who use digital technology and for everyone who creates material that becomes digitally accessible," said Industry Minister Jim Prentice.
But just as soon as the government unveiled the details, the proposal split members in the arts and business communities over whether the hard line approach is the right way to deal with consumers in the digital age. And some rebranded it as an American duplicate.
Only in cases where companies do not put a digital lock on their material will consumers be allowed to make a backup copy of a legally purchased CD or DVD, or transfer it to an MP3 player or another device for personal use. And while the new bill proposes to make expressly legal the "time shifting" of television programs through widely used personal video recorders, there is a catch.
The shows cannot be kept indefinitely to build a library of recordings, and if broadcasters block the ability to digitally record certain shows through broadcast flags, consumers will not be allowed to get around that lock legally. The legislation also proposes a ban against tools to circumvent digital locks.
"The effect of the digital lock provisions is to render these rights virtually meaningless in the digital environment because anything that is locked down cannot be copied," said Michael Geist, a law professor specializing in digital copyright at the University of Ottawa.
Prentice defended the approach, saying it strikes the right balance in changing times.
"Think about it in these terms: 10 years ago, the first portable MP3 player hit the market. The 1998 version bragged about storing up to one hour of music. Today's players can hold thousands of songs, videos and photographs," said Prentice, pointing out Canada's copyright law was last amended in 1997.
In cases where people download copyrighted songs or other digitized material, penalties will be capped at $500. But in cases where teenagers legally purchase songs online, then e-mail them to a friend or share them through a peer-to-peer service, this transgression will still carry a maximum penalty of $20,000 per copyrighted song.
Duncan McKie, president of the Canadian Independent Record Production Association, was quick to praise the government for starting "on the right road. I think they've addressed the right issues. I think they've been sensitive to everyone's concerns."
He added the music industry isn't keen to take regular consumers to court to collect damages. The industry is more "concerned with the most egregious violators, people who try to make a business out of the trade of illicit and infringing materials. I'm not really concerned about people in their basements sharing a few files here and there."
The Canadian Record Industry Association, the Canadian Music Publishers Association and the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists also applauded the draft legislation.
But the Canadian Music Creators Coalition slammed the bill, characterizing it as "an American-style approach to copyright. It's all locks and lawsuits," according to Safwan Javed, coalition member and drummer for Wide Mouth Mason.
"Rather than building a made-in-Canada proposal to help musicians get paid, the government has chosen to import American-style legislation that says the solution to the music industry's problems is suing our fans," said Javed.
The coalition of nearly 200 Canadian acts includes household names Avril Lavigne, Sarah McLachlan, Broken Social Scene, Matthew Good, Billy Talent, Sloan, Chantal Kreviazuk, Sum 41 and Sam Roberts.
The minister was set to table the legislation last December, but pulled it amid concerns the Canadian legislation too closely resembled the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act, recognized as the toughest legislation worldwide. Like the Canadian proposal, the U.S. law takes a hard line circumventing digital locks, even for legally purchased content for personal use.
If passed into law, Internet service providers in Canada will get a reprieve, an area where Canada deviates from provisions under U.S. law.
The American legislation requires ISPs to block access to allegedly infringing material or remove it from their system when they receive a notification claiming infringement from a copyright holder or their agent. The proposed legislation will require ISPs to forward a notice of infringement to the subscriber, a so-called "notice and notice" system already widely used voluntarily in Canada.
But Geist says an absence of a U.S.-style "notice and takedown" system under Canadian copyright law could be meaningless if Canada signs on to the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). Prentice confirmed Thursday that the government is working to reach such a deal with international trading partners.
An ACTA discussion paper, recently leaked on the Internet, could require ISPs to filter out pirated material, hand over the identities of customers accused of copyright infringement, and restrict the use of online privacy tools.
The fate of the Canadian legislation was in doubt on the same day it was tabled, as opposition politicians lined up to question key aspects of the proposed legislation. The government will require support from some opposition Members of Parliament for the bill to become law. It could also die on the order paper if an election is held before it's fully debated.
Liberal heritage critic Denis Coderre suggested the maximum penalty of $500 for downloading copyrighted songs may not protect creators. Besides, he said, enforceability is a real problem. "Are we going to have cyber police now? How are they going to manage to go and keep respecting privacy in the house."
Charlie Angus, digital affairs for the NDP, said the digital lock provisions around personal use pose a real problem. "The fact is this bill was not created with any serious consultation with any of the stakeholders, except, as far as we could tell, the American lobby interests."
The proposed legislation creates specific education and research provisions, which will allow teachers and students to use material they find online as long as it's used for educational or training purposes. They'll also be able to use copyright material in lessons conducted over the Internet.
Librarians will also be to digitize print material and send a copy electronically to a client through an interlibrary loan. The client, in turn, can print a copy on their computer.
"This is a huge benefit for educational institutions, and certainly the publishers and authors will be disappointed by the breadth of it," said Mark Hayes, a partner in the Intellectual Property Group at the law firm of Blake, Cassels & Graydon.
Canadian Library Association Disappointed with New Copyright Legislation
CLA
(Ottawa, June 12, 2008) – Today, the Canadian Library Association (CLA) expressed disappointment with the government’s newly announced copyright legislation, Bill C-61.
Bill C-61 is a missed opportunity and demonstrates that the government did not consult adequately with the user community, and did not listen to the concerns of Canadians. Overall, the Bill is extremely complex and will need more detailed study, but there are many glaring problems. Fundamentally, the Bill circumvents user rights.
One example is the missed opportunity on perceptual disabilities, where the Bill allows users to circumvent digital rights management (DRM) software, but does not allow them to import the technology to do so.
Another example is desktop delivery of interlibrary loan. Bill C-61 ignores the fact that the 2004 CCH Supreme Court Judgment already allows Canadian libraries to do desktop delivery of interlibrary loan. The provisions in Bill C-61 require libraries to lock up interlibrary loan with DRM, something that most libraries would not have the resources to accomplish. This would force many libraries back to delivering interlibrary loan via paper copies.
There is also a clear problem with criminalizing the circumvention of DRM. For a teenager, the criminal risk involved in shoplifting a CD would be safer rather than circumventing DRM on a CD they purchased to put it on their IPod. “Bill C-61 attempts to provide balance, but misses the boat for ordinary Canadians and over 21 million library users,” stated Rob Tiessen, Chair of the CLA Copyright Committee.
The Canadian Library Association (CLA) is Canada’s largest national and broad-based library association, representing the interests of public, academic, school and special libraries, professional librarians and library workers, and all those concerned about enhancing the quality of life of Canadians through information and literacy.
(Ottawa, June 12, 2008) – Today, the Canadian Library Association (CLA) expressed disappointment with the government’s newly announced copyright legislation, Bill C-61.
Bill C-61 is a missed opportunity and demonstrates that the government did not consult adequately with the user community, and did not listen to the concerns of Canadians. Overall, the Bill is extremely complex and will need more detailed study, but there are many glaring problems. Fundamentally, the Bill circumvents user rights.
One example is the missed opportunity on perceptual disabilities, where the Bill allows users to circumvent digital rights management (DRM) software, but does not allow them to import the technology to do so.
Another example is desktop delivery of interlibrary loan. Bill C-61 ignores the fact that the 2004 CCH Supreme Court Judgment already allows Canadian libraries to do desktop delivery of interlibrary loan. The provisions in Bill C-61 require libraries to lock up interlibrary loan with DRM, something that most libraries would not have the resources to accomplish. This would force many libraries back to delivering interlibrary loan via paper copies.
There is also a clear problem with criminalizing the circumvention of DRM. For a teenager, the criminal risk involved in shoplifting a CD would be safer rather than circumventing DRM on a CD they purchased to put it on their IPod. “Bill C-61 attempts to provide balance, but misses the boat for ordinary Canadians and over 21 million library users,” stated Rob Tiessen, Chair of the CLA Copyright Committee.
The Canadian Library Association (CLA) is Canada’s largest national and broad-based library association, representing the interests of public, academic, school and special libraries, professional librarians and library workers, and all those concerned about enhancing the quality of life of Canadians through information and literacy.
Tories table 'made-in-Canada' copyright bill
Canwest News Service
Thursday, June 12, 2008
OTTAWA - The federal government unveiled its controversial copyright legislation Wednesday, positioning it as a made-in-Canada solution to stamp out online piracy.
Industry Minister Jim Prentice and Heritage Minister Josee Verner introduced the bill in the House of Commons, six months after they pulled an earlier version at the last minute amid concerns the Canadian legislation too closely resembled the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act, recognized as the toughest copyright legislation in the world.
Canada's Copyright Act has not been amended since 1997 and the Conservative government says the law needs to be updated to keep up with changing consumer practices in the digital age. Internet file sharing and downloading are now typical, especially among young people.
But consumer groups have complained they haven't been consulted, and worry proposed changes will turn average Canadians into lawbreakers. Currently, for examples, consumers are technically not permitted by law to copy legally purchased material, including music and movies, onto their MP3 players for personal use.
The contentious legislation will only become law if the Conservatives can pick up support from some opposition members of Parliament. It could also die on the order paper if an election is held before it's fully debated.
The last attempt to amend the copyright law, by the previous Liberal government in 2005, failed after it generated too much criticism.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
OTTAWA - The federal government unveiled its controversial copyright legislation Wednesday, positioning it as a made-in-Canada solution to stamp out online piracy.
Industry Minister Jim Prentice and Heritage Minister Josee Verner introduced the bill in the House of Commons, six months after they pulled an earlier version at the last minute amid concerns the Canadian legislation too closely resembled the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act, recognized as the toughest copyright legislation in the world.
Canada's Copyright Act has not been amended since 1997 and the Conservative government says the law needs to be updated to keep up with changing consumer practices in the digital age. Internet file sharing and downloading are now typical, especially among young people.
But consumer groups have complained they haven't been consulted, and worry proposed changes will turn average Canadians into lawbreakers. Currently, for examples, consumers are technically not permitted by law to copy legally purchased material, including music and movies, onto their MP3 players for personal use.
The contentious legislation will only become law if the Conservatives can pick up support from some opposition members of Parliament. It could also die on the order paper if an election is held before it's fully debated.
The last attempt to amend the copyright law, by the previous Liberal government in 2005, failed after it generated too much criticism.
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