Copyright lockdown misses the mark, say New Democrats

OTTAWA – Despite a year and a half of fine tuning and bodywork, the Conservative government has once again introduced badly flawed copyright legislation. Both artists and consumers will be left on the sidelines as the bill moves to appease large corporate rights-holders, say New Democrats.

“Under this bill, the only rights you will have as a consumer are the rights the U.S. corporate lobby gives you,” charged New Democrat Digital critic Charlie Angus. “The Tories say you can back up your iPod, but if a digital lock on one of your songs says you can’t, are you a criminal?”

According to Angus, the government missed an opportunity to craft legislation that would allow digital locks to prevent copyrighted works from being pirated, and at the same time ensure fair access for consumers and students. Under the government’s proposal, the legal protection for digital locks will undermine consumers’ rights, including those the government claims to protect in the new legislation.

“Unfortunately, the Tories rushed through their consultation process last summer and haven’t seemed to have heard the message that we need balance in copyright. Artists should be getting paid and citizens should not be criminalized for reasonable use.”

New Democrats were also disappointed the government made no effort to update the artist royalties system. Nonetheless, Angus says there are elements of the bill that are a improvement over the previously introduced copyright overhaul, Bill C-61.

“We will study this bill very carefully and push forward with amendments that are needed to ensure that Canadian artists, consumers and students have the protections they need in law.”