Jim Prentice, Industry Minister, Copyright Infringement

[Bobblehead]

Jim Prentice has come under fire for the past few months for the rumoured content of his impending copyright bill. It is believed that the new bill will strongly favour copyright holders at the expense of the rest of the population, and the lack of consultation with the general public and other stakeholders has spawned this criticism.

On the weekend, Jim Prentice hosted a news conference where he showed an anti-Liberal election style attack ad with the song "For the Love of Money" by The O'Jays ("Money money money......Moooneey - also used as the theme to The Apprentice).

"Warner/Chappell recently sent a letter to the Conservative Party of Canada confirming its unauthorized use of a song written by Warner/Chappell writers," wrote Amanda Collins in an e-mailed statement. "As a regular course of business, we contact parties that use our musical compositions without permission. We look forward to working with the party to resolve this matter quickly."

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/...913977&k=87483

This is definitely a violation, and this type of thing seems to happen a fair bit, it isn't like the CPC are the only ones. But I really hope Mr. Prentice takes this opportunity to realize that copyright isn't something that can just be "fixed"; it needs discussion from all stakeholders and there are many unseen ramifications from changes that need to be recognized before action is taken.

[jolinar of malkshor]

I support the PC's but this stupid bill better not make it past first reading.

[Russic]

too bad, I'm not a pc supporter but Prentice is one of the few that I respect.

[peter12]

It's not the PC Party anymore...

Seeing as how they are Conservatives, I think they should recognize the new market of underground/indie music and let the free market decide which industry will prevail. Bills like these just smack of big government. I guess in Canada all government has to be big though...

[jolinar of malkshor]

Originally Posted by peter12

It's not the PC Party anymore...

Seeing as how they are Conservatives, I think they should recognize the new market of underground/indie music and let the free market decide which industry will prevail. Bills like these just smack of big government. I guess in Canada all government has to be big though...

Sorry, the Conservative party.

[Cube Inmate]

Note to Alanis Morisette: that's ironic.

Regarding the potential legislation itself, I'm not familiar enough to comment with much depth, but I can ask a question: why is copyright such a hot-button issue? Seems simple to me...pay for the rights to use someone else's creation...yes, no? Maybe I'm a simpleton, but I'm hoping to get some opinions and information.

[jolinar of malkshor]

Originally Posted by Cube Inmate

Note to Alanis Morisette: that's ironic.

Regarding the potential legislation itself, I'm not familiar enough to comment with much depth, but I can ask a question: why is copyright such a hot-button issue? Seems simple to me...pay for the rights to use someone else's creation...yes, no? Maybe I'm a simpleton, but I'm hoping to get some opinions and information.

They want more than just paying for the right to use it. From what I have read you would be unable to make backup copies of anything for yourself.

[MarchHare]

Originally Posted by Cube Inmate

Note to Alanis Morisette: that's ironic.

Regarding the potential legislation itself, I'm not familiar enough to comment with much depth, but I can ask a question: why is copyright such a hot-button issue? Seems simple to me...pay for the rights to use someone else's creation...yes, no? Maybe I'm a simpleton, but I'm hoping to get some opinions and information.

Here's a scenario:

Say you go to a music store and pay $20 of your hard-earned money for a new CD. You take the CD home and rip it to your computer so you can upload it to your iPod. That should be perfectly allowable, right? Afterall, you didn't pirate the music, you paid for it legally. Alas, some of the more draconian copyright laws that are being proposed would make that a violation.

Likewise, say you want to burn a CD of your current favourite tunes (all of which you paid for) to listen to in your car -- the digital equivalent of what we used to call a "mix tape" back when people still had cassette decks. That too would be illegal, because the record companies don't want you to make "unauthorized copies" of their music.

[Wookie]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

Here's a scenario:

Say you go to a music store and pay $20 of your hard-earned money for a new CD. You take the CD home and rip it to your computer so you can upload it to your iPod. That should be perfectly allowable, right? Afterall, you didn't pirate the music, you paid for it legally. Alas, some of the more draconian copyright laws that are being proposed would make that a violation.

Likewise, say you want to burn a CD of your current favourite tunes (all of which you paid for) to listen to in your car -- the digital equivalent of what we used to call a "mix tape" back when people still had cassette decks. That too would be illegal, because the record companies don't want you to make "unauthorized copies" of their music.

That's why I don't pay for music!