mélange

» Prentice Commits to Private Copying Consultation

roamin:

Michael Geist

“Lost amidst the huge backlash against the Canadian DMCA was a very brief comment from Industry Minister Jim Prentice during his press conference on Thursday. Although I did not see it discussed in the media, Prentice committed the government to a public consultation on the future of the private copying levy in the fall. A consultation on the levy is a good thing - the levy system is clearly broken and Bill C-61’s format shifting provisions provide an unmistakable signal that the government isn’t crazy about it either. Yet the right approach would have been to consult on copyright more broadly before tabling a bill. With a bill before the Industry Committee in the fall, the consultation will get completely lost in the process. Moreover, why a consultation on private copying but nothing on more flexible fair use or crown copyright or the multitude of other important concerns that this bill fails to address…”