Canadian DMCA rally in Calgary -- photos, videos, reports

Kempton Lam, who organized Saturday's anti-DMCA rally at Industry Canada Minister Jim Prentice's office in Calgary, Alberta, has posted a GREAT couple of articles reporting on the day, which looks to have been an unqualified success. The Minister (who was in Calgary for an open house at his constituency office) is introducing copyright legislation that mimics -- and exceeds -- the worst elements of the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) of 1998, a law that has resulted in lawsuits against 20,000 music fans, harmed free speech and innovation, and failed completely to enrich any artists or prevent infringement.

Minister Prentice has refused to answer any of the 250+ questions that the CBC Radio programme Search Engine compiled from its readers' suggestions; and he shut Canadian artists, industry and consumer groups out of the drafting of the bill, writing it with the help of US entertainment giants and the US Trade Representative. The Minister's office says that consumer interests in the bill will come about as the result of a separate committee, the kind of thing that usually takes a decade to come to fruition in Canadian law.

So on Saturday, some fifty concerned people attended the Minister's open house and asked him some of the questions that the CBC had compiled. Hundreds more wrote and called the office (I tried to leave a message late on Saturday and found that all three of his office voicemail systems were filled and no longer accepting messages).

Word is that the Minister had no idea that this would be such a big deal for Canadians (the week-old Facebook group for fighting the bill just crested 10,000 members and is growing fast), despite the fact that the last two MPs who tried to introduce a slightly better version of the law ended up losing their jobs.

Word is that the Minister and his advisers are scrambling, rethinking the entire matter because of the public outcry. It's thanks to you all -- everyone who wrote and called, and especially people who went to the Minister's office on Saturday, and especially Kempton Lam, who organised the whole event. (Be sure to check out all the videos Kempton filmed of Canadians putting questions about the proposal to the Minister)

We've killed the Canadian DMCA twice now. We will do it a third time, a fourth, a fifth, and forever, until Canada's politicians start drafting balanced copyright laws that protect Canadian artists, scholars, critics, schools, libraries, and the public interest. Link to Part 1 of Kempton's report, Part 2 of Kempton's report

(Photo credit: _DSC0046 from LiminalMike's Flickr stream)

Discussion

Take a look at this

#1 posted by Justin Bronn

, December 9, 2007 11:27 PM

US Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) of 1998, a law that has resulted in lawsuits against 20,000 music fans, harmed free speech and innovation, and failed completely to enrich any artists or prevent infringement.

Mind pointing out which part of the DMCA led to the 20K lawsuits? The people who are getting sued in the US are for copyright infringement, which is distinct and separate from the para-copyright provisions contained in the DMCA.

I agree with your harming free speech/innovation and preventing infringement points, but its misleading to imply that the DMCA is the origin of the RIAA lawsuits.

#2 posted by Neddy Seagoon , December 10, 2007 2:11 AM

I already added this comment to
http://www.boingboing.net/2007/12/07/canadian-dmca-introd.html
but will stick it in here in the interests of keeping it all together.

Some friends of mine from the Calgary Unix Users Group managed to make it out to Mr. Prentice's Christmas party, and reported back as follows:

Well, it wasn't what I'd imagined, some kind of forum with Prentice up front of an audience, taking questions.

It was an Xmas party, I think mostly with his supporters.

However, it was clear many others were there to talk copyright, and people were more or less lined up to have a few minutes talk with him, and Prentice was taking them all on at arm's length, eyeball-to-eyeball. Everybody was polite.

So we went with that, too. Four of us showed up. We waited in the (very small) room where people were talking to him, listened in on some young creative-content people talking to him about the same stuff.

Then he turned to me, I introduced us, handed him the note with eight names on it, and summarized (even further) the its-bad-for-industry-itself arguments about radio and the VCR. He engaged with that, asked several questions, we had a real discussion. He wasn't spouting industry talking points. And he said we (and Prof. Geist) hadn't read the legislation yet. So I just phrased it as "there's a broad concern in the land that there's going to be legislation that only defends the rights of copyright holders and not the public ones". Etc.

One great bit at the end is that he asked how we distinguished between a $5 CD and $1500 CD of Photoshop. "I coulda kissed him". I said, we don't - and it was the software vendors with $1500 to lose that gave up on DRM twenty years ago, not worth the lost customers.

And we were done. The "threat" part was left on the paper and didn't cloud the Xmas party...but it's in his pocket. Message delivered! Hand delivered, to the Minister for Industry.

So we've done our bit - now we'll see what gets tabled, what gets passed. I can't let it be an empty threat, of course - I may have to be donating for a Liberal somewhere that has a best chance of beating a sitting Conservative.

#3 posted by porn for creative souls , December 10, 2007 2:19 AM

Yay! Keep up the momentum! It may yet rear it's ugly head again.

#4 posted by paul567 , December 10, 2007 4:22 AM

Another thing to note too is that during the rally there were members of the press there too.

A local CTV affiliate showed up and we ended up getting a little TV time.

Also two reporters from the CBC ( one from SearchEngine ) showed up to try and talk with Prentice. They were very friendly and interviewed several of us there.

#5 posted by daylmer , December 10, 2007 4:23 AM

Well done! *clap clap* for Kempton Lam who organized it, and Neddy Seagoon for standing face to face, and talking coherently about it with the Minister. Great news, and again, very well done. You've got this Canadian feeling proud and saying "way to go for speaking up about this issue, and doing it politely and firmly". That's the way to get the point across, isn't it?

I brought up the issue at church yesterday actually with someone. They had no idea we were about to get this style of law. So, yes, I explained that a bit of annoying copy protection on a CD, or DVD, doesn't really stop the big-money-makers. All it does is make it annoying and frustrating for the end-user, him, you and I! As well, the fact that the song-writers, in general are totally against the DMCA style of law. They want FAIR copyright laws, as well as us.

#6 posted by Cory Doctorow , December 10, 2007 4:26 AM

Neddy, that's an AMAZING story! You've made my day!

#7 posted by realyst , December 10, 2007 6:08 AM

Very cool:) Makes me happy I was able to contribute just a lil' bit with a voicemail(I never dreamed the voice mailbox would have been filled by end of day, that's awesome!).

And my sincerest thanks to Kempton:) I'll remotely hip-hip hooray you and drink a fine ale to your name.