Save Canada's Internet from WIPO

Cory Doctorow writes about Boing Boing: Save Canada's Internet from WIPO, following up on the Slashdot notice of this Globe and Mail (Globetechnology) article on The standing committee on Canadian Heritage recommendation that Canada must ratify WIPO Copyright Treaty.

Cory describes the problem, particularly "Notice-and-takedown is an area where WIPO got it drastically, terribly wrong.", and why: notice-and-takedown is a guilty until proven innocent approach, where the ISP does the deed or chance being punished as well; it is also a near-perfect tool for censorship. "The takedown notice is the favorite tool of the crank, the censor, and the bully."

Also he suggests writing to your MP, writing to the Ministers -- contact info here.

The email address for: the Heritage Committee: HERI@parl.gc.ca ;Heritage Minister Liza Frulla (head of the committee): Frulla.L@parl.gc.ca ;The web site for the Heritage Committee (and a List of Committee members ) and The list of members of the House of Commons, here

Other links worth exploring: Chilling Effects; Digital Copy Right Canada (including their list of links and Jargon);and Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC)

Solutions that approach the Internet as a problem are no solutions at all.

Updates: I should note this great quote from Cory :

The Internet has one overarching feature that makes it superior to the technologies that preceded it: it can copy arbitrary blobs of data from one place to another at virtually no cost, in virutally no time, with virtually no control. This is not a bug. This is what the Internet is supposed to do.

Darren Barefoot has a suggest for your email/letter to your MP and the Minister, and links to a on-line petition started by Will Pate to "Save Canada's Internet from WIPO".

Digital CopyRight Canada posted a very good summary of the recommendations from this report, and a link to the report in question.

another update: Cory has a update and a friendly Anonymous commenter (below) links to a real paper petition to Parliament. Print it out, sign it (ask friends, family, cow-orker and strangers to sign) and mail it in. 'cause hard copy carries more weight with your MP's

Category:Law