Lawyer explaining how bill C-61 will affect you.
This article from The Globe and Mail is a Q&A with a University of Ottawa intellectual property law professor. He has worked for the Department of Justice and as legal counsel to the Copyright Board of Canada. Prof. deBeer answers questions about how the new bill will affect every day people. Here is an excerpt I find interesting:
Read the full article at The Globe and Mail's website. Take action by using the page in my previous post. This bill needs to be stopped and revised to be more fair to consumers.
J Swede from Edmonton writes: Two Questions: 1. Let's say I have purchased a DVD from the store (Alien, for example). Under the new law, am I able to rip this DVD for viewing on my iPod Classic? 2. If I am able to format shift this DVD to my iPod, what's the difference between ripping it myself and downloading an already ripped version using P2P? I already own a licence to view this particular movie and I find it a lot easier and quicker to download the already ripped versions rather than do it myself. Am I breaking the law? If so, why? I've already paid to view this movie ...
Jeremy deBeer answers: This is a long-winded answer, but it is an important question, so please bear with me.
What you describe doing is commonly called "format shifting" — moving content you've legally acquired from one format to another, like DVD to iPod. Though Industry Minister Jim Prentice correctly explained that the Bill contains provisions to permit ordinary activities like format shifting, the devil is in the details.
Ripping DVDs to laptops, iPods or even backup discs would not be allowed under the proposed law. The various format shifting exceptions only apply to music, photos, books, newspapers, magazines and — get this — videocassettes, like VHS and Betamax tapes. Yah, I know. Weird. What century are we in?
If you do want to digitize your VHS collection, though, the good news is that you can do that. But only under certain conditions. You've got to own, not rent or borrow, the tape. You can't get rid of the old tape without deleting the copies first. It has to be your own iPod, computer or DVD that you're copying to. And no selling, lending or giving away the copies, not even to close friends or family.
Back to the DVD example for a second. Even if you were allowed to format shift your DVDs (which under this Bill you're not), you'd probably be technologically prevented from doing so. Most DVDs are region coded, so, for instance, the disc you bought legally in Europe won't play in your machine back home.
Under the proposed law, circumventing the "technological measure" is prohibited, even if you just want to watch the disc, let alone copy it. If you think that doesn't matter, because you won't get caught, ask yourself how you'll find the tools do make your movie-watching possible. Those tools are outlawed, and people caught circulating them could be subject to a million-dollar fine (literally) and up to 5 years in jail.
So that is one practical example of how the infamous anti-circumvention provisions would operate if this Bill becomes law.
Oh right, to answer, your question: no. You can't do that. Sorry.
Read the full article at The Globe and Mail's website. Take action by using the page in my previous post. This bill needs to be stopped and revised to be more fair to consumers.
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