False Positives: Ottawa's copyright plans wrongheaded, experts say

Another article in today's Globe and Mail titled “Ottawa's copyright plans wrongheaded, experts say” by columnist Jack Kapica further describing the recommendations to Change Canada's copyright law:

I love/hate this quote:

"The committee's premise is that all work on the Internet is someone's property. You can read it or listen to it, but unless there is an explicit legal notice saying the material can be used, you would not be permitted to save a copy to disk or print it out without paying a copyright collective such as Access Copyright."

Bad, bad, bad....

It goes beyond the problems with the "terminate and takedown" notice.

Looks like they want us to pay a access fee (like the CD levy) to do want we current do for free, under the assumption the we must be infringing on someone property rights.

Another site is mentioned FairCopyright.ca is mentioned, maintained by Laura Murray, a Queen's University English professor, a resource for Canadians, especially teachers, students, and creators. It aims to explain copyright law clearly and fairly.

More On Saving Canada's Internet from WIPO

Also for a great review of the history of Copyright see a video of Cory Doctorow’s talk at iBiblio/UNC.

Cory responds on Boing Boing with a deft analaysis:

even if you pay the levy for the use of copyrighted works on the Internet, you won't get the right to share music, or download movies, or use screenshots in your PowerPoint presentation
...
The report that Heritage delivered is a one-sided smear against the Internet and a naked grab for a few giant copyright holders at the expense of new entrants to the market and the general public
....
If Canada is going to extract a levy from Canadians, then Canadians should get soemthing in return: unlimited access to noncommercial, educational, and archival use of copyrighted works on the Internet. A levy without something in return is just an exercise in picking your pocket -- and you shouldn't stand for it.