Canada's own DMCA

[Christopher Browne]

On 5/13/05, James Knott <james.knott-bJEeYj9oJeDQT0dZR+AlfA at public.gmane.org> wrote:
> Christopher Browne wrote:
> > On 5/13/05, daniel <danstemporaryaccount-FFYn/CNdgSA at public.gmane.org> wrote:
> >
> >>'cmon.  think about the demographic here.  everyone on this list knows the
> >>dangers of things like drm and the dmca, but the mentality on this list makes
> >>up no more than 2% of the voting public.  the ndp is doing what any smart
> >>party would do in this position: looking for the groups that'll hand them the
> >>most votes.  as far as anyone else is concerned, this whole "dmca thing" is
> >>just some weird computer thing that doesn't concern them.
> >
> >
> > You can get a pretty big step away from the "weird computer thing" and
> > still find them unsympathetic.
> >
> > The RIAA and such are pushing for it on the basis that people are
> > illegally copying music when they share around MP3s.
> >
> > There's TRUTH to that, and it's an easy point to point to.
> >
> > I can consider the RIAA to be scoundrels, but if I then "pirate"
> > music, I undermine any notion of "moral high ground."  There are way
> > more people doing "pirate music" than there are on any 'high ground,'
> > and that makes the set of DMCA opponents look unattractive.
> 
> One thing you're apparently forgetting, is that every time you purchase
> a blank CD or audio cassette, you're paying a levee for the legal right
> to copy music.  It's impossible to be a "pirate" in Canada, if you're
> copying for your own personal use.

That is an excellent example of the LACK of "moral high ground."

All that comes out of that levy is a subsidy to the Canadian
equivalent to the RIAA, CPCC.  It is unlikely that any but the richest
artists ever see a penny of that.

There's an argument that it's legal to copy in unlimited quantity for
personal use; that position doesn't have any sort of universal
agreement.

And when Canadians make copies of music produced by people that aren't
beneficiaries of that levy, the artists see no money.  Perhaps legal,
but hardly just.
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