Ottawa moves to restrict music sharing with proposed copyright reform
TORONTO (CP) – Those who enjoy swapping music, books and movies online may want to reconsider.
The federal government inched closer Thursday to cracking down on file sharing by announcing several proposed amendments to the Copyright Act. The changes would include implementing elements of two World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) treaties and forcing Internet service providers to keep records of those who share high volumes of copyright-protected material such as songs, Hollywood movies and TV shows.
The amendments would “clarify that the unauthorized posting or the peer-to-peer file-sharing of material on the Internet will constitute an infringement of copyright,” say documents released jointly Thursday by Canadian Heritage and Industry Canada.
“It will also be made clear that private copies of sound recordings cannot be uploaded or further distributed.”
The reforms, which will be introduced in the House of Commons later this spring, would give the music industry greater power to stop such behaviour through the courts via lawsuits. Currently, it is not illegal in Canada to upload material to programs like Kazaa and BearShare.
“Clearly, once we get implementation there’ll be no doubt . . . it’ll be illegal to engage in unauthorized file-sharing,” said Graham Henderson, who heads the Canadian Recording Industry Association, which represents the country’s record labels.
Adding Canada’s name to the list of 50 countries already using the WIPO treaties would make it illegal to distribute and trade music online.
It would also become a crime to remove or circumvent copyright protections on CDs.
The amendments also ask that ISPs such as Rogers, Shaw and Bell “play a role in curbing the misuse of their facilities for copyright infringement.”
ISPs would have to notify subscribers when illegal activity is detected via their Internet connection. They would also be required, as is the case in the United States and parts of Europe, to keep a log of such warnings in case of a lawsuit – although a court order would be needed to make the names and addresses known to prosecutors.
In pre-committee meetings the copyright amendments were approved by all political parties.
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