Hi again,

Further to my last note, re. below is a related matter that needs to be
watched closely.

Cheers,
Leo

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 21 Jun 2004 17:11:02 -0400
From: Philippa Lawson <plawsonATuottawa.ca>
Subject: Public Interest Groups make Internet an Election Issue

News Release
Ottawa, ON
June 21, 2004
5:00pm

Public Interest Groups make Internet an Election Issue

Three public interest groups have launched a campaign to focus the attention
of political parties and candidates on issues involving the Internet and
user rights. The Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic
(CIPPIC), Digital Copyright Canada, and the Public Interest Advocacy Centre
(PIAC) have asked party leaders and candidates for their views on user
rights under copyright law and other technology-related issues.

CIPPIC and PIAC also issued today a highly critical response to the Interim
Report on Copyright Reform released by the House of Commons Standing
Committee on Canadian Heritage last month. CIPPIC and PIAC state that the
report ignores key evidence and submissions by public interest groups, and
lacks reasoning for some key recommendations. They call for rejection of
the report and for a more balanced approach to copyright reform in Canada.
See http://www.cippic.ca/whats-new .

CIPPIC, a legal clinic based at the University of Ottawa, posed seven
questions to each party and candidate - party responses are posted on its
website at http://www.cippic.ca/election2004 . The issues include music
file-sharing over the Internet, the rights of educators to use copyrighted
material posted on the Internet, and what we should do about spam.
"These are all serious issues with significant implications for
Canadians", said Philippa Lawson, Executive Director of CIPPIC. "Whoever
forms the next government will have to address them, and Canadians deserve
to know how they will do so."

So far, the Liberals, Greens, NDP and Bloc have provided party responses.

Digital Copyright Canada, a forum for individuals concerned about the
direction that copyright law is taking, is using its website
http://www.digital-copyright.ca to encourage electors to raise copyright
law issues with their candidates, and to pressure the government to take a
more user-friendly approach to copyright. It has drafted a petition
calling on the federal government to expand user rights under the
Copyright Act, and uses its website to direct people to individual
candidate responses to the questions.

"Copyright is automatic when you create something. This means that all
Canadians are copyright holders, including copyright holders of a grocery
list", commented Russell McOrmond, host of Digital-Copyright.ca. "Given that
all Canadians are rights-holders, we need to ensure that our interests are
considered in copyright reform. We need to remind legislators that most
works under copyright are non-commercial in nature. As a Creative Commons
and Open Source creator, I also want to remind the government that
collecting royalties is only a subset of the wide variety of business models
used by commercial copyright holders".

PIAC, an organization representing consumer interests, has issued a report
on the consumer's view of copyright advocating broader user rights under
copyright law and questioning the need to legislate protection for
anti-infringement technology used by copyright holders.

"Canadian consumers have told the government that they want to it preserve
and enhance existing permitted uses under copyright law," said Sue Lott,
author of the report. "If we go the route of the U.S. and enact legal
protection for technical measures, we will destroy the critical balance in
copyright between the user's ability to access copyrighted works and the
protections given to holders of copyright, to the detriment of consumers."
PIAC's report and submissions to Parliament are accessible from its website
at www.piac.ca/copyright.htm .

- 30 -

For more information, contact:

Philippa Lawson, CIPPIC
(613) 562-5800 x.2556
plawsonATuottawa.ca

Russell McOrmond
Digital-copyright.ca
(613) 733-5836
russellATflora.ca

Sue Lott, PIAC
(613) 562-4002 x.23
slottATpiac.ca

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