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Locking Out Lawful Users

By Michael Geist

Osgoode Hall Law School professor Carys Craig has a great post at the IP Osgoode site on her article in From "Radical Extremism" to "Balanced Copyright": Canadian Copyright and the Digital Agenda, the copyright book from Irwin Law that officially launches tomorrow. Craig's article focuses on two key aspects of Bill C-32: the fair dealing reforms and the impact of the digital lock provisions.  On fair dealing, Craig brings much-needed perspective to the fair dealing reform, which has been the target of an ongoing fear mongering campaign that implausibly and inaccurately claims that it will erode Canadian culture.  Rather, Craig notes:

Educational, parodic and other transformative uses have long been recognized as potential fair uses in the United States. Indeed, the need to expressly include these specific exceptions in Canada speaks more to the shortcomings of the Canadian approach to fair dealing (in contrast to US fair use) than it does to the pursuit of a genuine balance between owners and users in the copyright reform process.

Craig reserves her harshest criticism for C-32's digital lock provisions, which she describes as "unduly expansive," concluding:


Bill C-32 fails to reflect the centrality of fair dealing and other exceptions in copyright law, treating them as marginal elements of the existing system that can be reduced or eliminated to better protect owner interests in the digital environment. In doing so, it threatens to significantly upset the copyright balance established in Canada and articulated by our Supreme Court.

The full article will be posted on the Irwin website shortly.  There are additional posts from Sara Bannerman and Blayne Haggart on their contributions to the book. 

Further, a reminder of the free, public event on Bill C-32 and copyright being hosted at the University of Ottawa tomorrow.  Six panelists from the book will be speaking, focusing on digital locks, WIPO, ethics, North American copyright, and open access to government data.

Full post as published by Michael Geist on October 13, 2010 (boomark / email).