Answer #5 -- the closing statements of my Canadian #CopyCon submission. All submissions are due tomorrow!

So I'm finally getting around to finishing my submission to our government's public consultation on copyright...

There are five key questions to answer:

1. How do Canada’s copyright laws affect you? How should existing laws be modernized?
2. Based on Canadian values and interests, how should copyright changes be made in order to withstand the test of time?
3. What sorts of copyright changes do you believe would best foster innovation and creativity in Canada?   
4. What sorts of copyright changes do you believe would best foster competition and investment in Canada?
5. What kinds of changes would best position Canada as a leader in the global, digital economy?

Here's the first final draft of my answer to Question #5 -- unless you have something to say about it!

5. What kinds of changes would best position Canada as a leader in the global, digital economy?

I am heartened that my government understands the global and digital opportunities for Canada's intellectual property.

I have hopefully made a compelling case against the use of digital locks. I will additionally submit that the specific practice of region-locking media has no place in an era of instant, global publishing, as media in digital form is no longer a scarce commodity. Furthermore there is no need to prioritize Canadian content on the Internet, as finding such things is as easy as entering "Canada" into an Internet search engine.

I would also call upon our government to resist the pressure of certain WIPO member countries and not support a proposed and so far internationally unpopular ratification of the current treaty.

Continuing to look abroad I am hopeful that Canada will learn the hard lessons of the DMCA in the United States, which has most certainly not stopped piracy and has succeeded only in bankrupting students and single mothers.

Here at home I would ask my government to closely review the groundswell of criticism to Bill C-61, thankfully scrapped as a by-product of the last election call. Hopefully a similar situation this autumn won't derail the efforts of this important consultation!

Thoughts/feedback/etc. are still welcome -- I'm emailing this pig tomorrow!

Posted via web from Andrew Currie on Posterous