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"A balanced, approach to intellectual property rights is vital to economic growth. "
Committee for Economic Development
In the Canadian copyright reform arena, the events of early December, 2007, changed everything.
In late November, it was widely anticipated that new copyright legislation would be introduced in the model of the controversial American Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The bill was rumored to include harsh "anti-circumvention laws", which grant software distributors the right to seek legal remedies for circumvention of technological locks on content. In response, veteran Canadian copyright advocates issued an appeal to Canadians to take an interest in the bill and to call for fair and balanced copyright.
Canadian citizens answered that call in unexpected numbers, both online and offline. A Facebook group, called Fair Copyright for Canadians, grew to over 25,000 members within two weeks, and provided grassroots advocacy tools to citizens. A new website, called CopyrightforCanadians.ca, established itself as a centre for news on the bill and consumer advocacy. Using these tools, Canadians wrote letters, met with politicians, and demanded balance. With their words and their actions, not only did Canadians delay the introduction of the bill until next year, but they put copyright in the spotlight and showed legislators that fair and balanced copyright can capture the public imagination.
Industry Minister Jim Prentice now has the opportunity to hear from groups representing Canadian perspectives on copyright, hopefully resulting in a better and more balanced bill.
Open source developers have a unique relationship with copyright, with licences and practices enabling them to flourish in the copyright ecosystem. Open source software businesses are uniquely situated to comment on the copyright balance, since open source developers rely on copyright both for protection of their software, and for freedom to access the software of others. In the consultation process to come, the Canadian Software Innovation Association (CSLA) is in a position to be the voice of the Canadian open source industry.
The CSLA is a growing coalition of businesses, nonprofit organizations, individuals and user groups working in the business of free and open source software. The CSIA is an organization that advocates copyright laws in Canada that continue to support creativity and encourage innovation in the Canadian software industry while offering users necessary freedoms....