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Proposed Copyright Amendments Dole Out $500 Fines for Illegal Web Downloads

Posted on: Thursday, 12 June 2008, 16:38 CDT

By Steve Rennie, THE CANADIAN PRESS

OTTAWA - People caught downloading copyrighted music or other material without permission would face a $500 fine under new legislation introduced Thursday by the Conservative government.

But it's unclear how violators would get caught, suggesting illegal downloading might be like playing a kind of legal Russian roulette. Industry Minister Jim Prentice sought middle ground between copyright holders who want strict protection for their intellectual property, and Internet users accustomed to downloading material for free.

"This bill balances the rights of creators on one hand and consumers on the other," he said.

The current copyright law - intended to catch commercial cheaters - carries a maximum fine of $20,000 for each infringement. Amendments to the Copyright Act proposed by Prentice would reduce that penalty to a one-time, $500 fine covering all infringements.

The amendments would also make it illegal to copy a CD or DVD to a personal digital device such as an iPod - even if you've paid for it - if it involves breaking a so-called digital lock to make a copy.

People caught hacking digital locks or uploading copyrighted material to file-sharing websites would face fines of up to $20,000.

Posting copyrighted material to the popular social-networking website Facebook, or the video-sharing website YouTube, qualify as infringements under the new legislation.

"I think what the government is doing is they're distinguishing between the person who is downloading and the person who is uploading," said Barry Sookman from the law firm McCarthy Tetrault.

"This gets after the person who is making the files available."

Prentice suggested the amendments are meant to safeguard parents against astronomical fines if their children are caught illegally downloading reams of copyrighted material.

"At present time, for the kinds of things you're speaking about, teenagers and their families are exposed to statutory damages that would run from $500 to $20,000 per work that is infringed," he said.

"It's clearly intended to protect consumers in respect of what might technically be an infringement, but relates to personal, private use."

Mark Hayes, a partner in the intellectual property group at the law firm of Blake, Cassels and Graydon, calls the penalties on downloaders "more a symbolic thing."

"There is a penalty there, it's severely limited, it's not legal for you to do it, but in practical terms the likelihood (the penalty) will ever be imposed is not all that great," he said.

Canada's current copyright law was drawn up long before personal computers and iPods were in every home. The amendments would let consumers copy legally acquired music onto portable audio players and cell phones, which the current law does not allow. Consumers could make one copy for each device they own, as long as any digital locks aren't hacked.

The bill would also allow consumers to record television and radio programs to watch or listen to later. And it would allow Internet programs to be recorded as long as they are simultaneously aired on television or radio.

But forget about amassing a library of recordings. The legislation puts unspecified limits on how long recordings would be allowed to be kept for later viewing. Department officials weren't able to say how long recordings would be allowed to be kept.

The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists called the legislation "a good first step for artists."

"This is only a first step - because film and television performers need a full set of rights under copyright law, the same as every other artist," ACTRA national president Richard Hardacre said in a statement.

There are also provisions to address the liability of Internet service providers and the role they should play in curbing copyright-infringing activities on their networks.

Internet service providers will remain exempt from copyright liability, but they will be required to notify customers who are accused of copyright infringement. The Internet service providers would also have to keep customer records, which they are currently not forced to do by law.

Consumers would be allowed to make one copy of any book, newspaper, magazine, photograph or video cassette for each device they own. There are also new exceptions for some educational and research purposes.

The bill has been in limbo since the Conservatives first put it on the Commons order paper in December.

Liberal MP Scott Brison called the legislation "half-baked."

"The fact is that today, the minister of industry could not answer basic questions on the enforceability of some of these provisions," he said.

"The government has not thought this through. The government does not know how it will enforce these provisions."

Source: Canadian Press

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