Libertatia Canada

Today is the last day for submissions to the Canadian Copyright Consultation. Below is the text of the PDF I sent to info@copyrightconsultation.gc.ca in it's entirety.

REFORMING CANADA'S COPYRIGHT ACT TO ENSURE
BALANCED RIGHTS IN A DIGITAL WORLD

By Scott Elcomb
September 2009

Introduction
My name is Scott Elcomb, and I am a proud Canadian citizen. I'd like to personally thank all those involved - Heritage, Industry, Nanos Research and others - in putting this consultation together and operating it openly. Citizens need more ways like this to interactively communicate with Government of Canada online.

I've lived in 3 provinces over the years and have encountered a large amount of creativity, culture and heritage. This consultation offers me a chance to ask the Government directly for one thing: Balance.

It might be notable that, as a result of lobbyist attempts to reform copyright over the last few years, I have decided to join a political party that focuses specifically on intellectual property issues. Although the name might suggest otherwise, the Pirate Party of Canada is an organization that believes in upholding the law, just as I do.

I am responding here to the consultation's questions in my personal capacity, and not as a representive of my Party. I feel it necessary to disclose my affiliation due to the important juxtaposition of copyright law, politics, and citizen involvement.

After following comments made throughout the consultation, it will be hard for me to say anything new. The responses I provide below are simple high-level answers – the details of which have been answered and expounded upon by numerous other respondents.

How do Canada's copyright laws affect you? How should existing laws be modernized?

I am a programmer, an avid reader, a huge fan of artistic & creative expression. I am also a sometimes-creator of audio and visual works which I share, along with my software, on the internet.

In all these things, copyright is of paramount importance. I'm not convinced that existing copyright law should be “modernized,” despite the chorus of claims that they must be.

Perhaps the one area in which I can see progress from updated copyright law would be in the expansion of fair dealing. After I purchase CD's and DVD's, I certainly should not be required to pay again and again if I wish to watch it on an iPod, my Linux computer or some other device that was not authorized at the time of purchase.

Based on Canadian values and interests, how should copyright changes be made in order to withstand the test of time?

It will be impossible to “withstand the test of time.” Nothing lasts forever. I really think this question should have been worded with a very specific goal, such as withstanding the next 50 years.

If we take a look at the modern world we should see that, as a society, we are consuming increasingly amounts of “stuff” at ever-increasing rates. Not only raw material, fossil fuel or commercial products, but also information and culture. (Lately we can barely even keep a Government in place for more than 18 months.)

While I would prefer a shorter term of copyright, the Berne convention has worked (in my eyes) well enough. To be certain I would advise against extending the duration of copyright protection as this flies in the face of the rate at which we actually consume information and culture.

What sorts of copyright changes do you believe would best foster innovation & creativity in Canada?

I don't believe we need to modify copyright at all to foster innovation & creativity. I think there are other avenues by which the Government of Canada can foster our culture.

Extending the term of copyright, and providing legal protection for TPM's and DRM, will only benefit corporate interests. While these may increase competition in Industry, the Government of Canada must be sure not to destroy the rights and privacy of it's citizens.

One other suggestion would be to take a close look at the various Creative Commons Deeds – they are very simple to digest and virtually everyone can understand them. This simplicity should be encouraged by the Government of Canada, which would encourage average Canadians to share, increasing our cultural heritage with thier own works. Simple is beautiful.

What sorts of copyright changes do you believe would best foster competition and investment in Canada?

As stated above, I believe TPM's and DRM may indeed foster competition and investment in the near term. The cost in citizen's rights and privacy is simply too high however. It is my belief that in the mid-to-long term these technologies would prove cumbersome if not outright disastrous for our society.

What kinds of changes would best position Canada as a leader in the global digital economy?

I think that the way the Government of Canada interacts with it's citizenship needs to be modernized, not copyright. This consultation is a great step in that direction and I hope that our thoughts and efforts will be heard and considered fairly. We are entities too - just like the corporations and collectives that have been lobbying for extensive and unnecessary changes to copyright.

Once again, thank you for this terrific opportunity in allowing citizens to publicly express our views.

Scott Elcomb psema4@gmail.com

It's been quite some time since I blogged with any regularity, and it's about time I fixed that.  So here goes... Why I became a Pirate.

It's been about 5 years or so since I jumped into the world of FOSS and I think I've grown a fair amount as an individual as a result.  I've learned so much from so many people, it would be impossible for me to describe my personal gains since over this period.  While I won't name any specific people at this juncture (for fear I might miss someone) I will say that the following public groups, in alphabetical order, have been instrumental in my personal and professional growth over the last half-decade:  CLUE - The Canadian Association for Open Source, DCC - Digital Copyright Canada, GTATLUG - The Greater Toronto Area Linux Users Group, and TPM - The Toronto Perl Mongers.  I owe you all so very much.

Anyway, just over 3 years ago I heard about the Pirate Party, and was seriously considering helping to bring it to Canada.  I knew then that I lacked the experience.  That, combined with comments from DCC'ers and other folks, suggested to me that perhaps waiting (and watching) would be the best course of action.  Now that the Pirate Party of Canada is here... Well yeah, I'm on board.

I'm not sure what to make of the Copyright eConsultation, or to be more specific, how the GoC will use the information.  In the event that the lobbyists win the day, I'd like to be in a position where I can do more.

So, here I am.  A Pirate.  I'll be posting my #copycon thoughts here in this blog when I send them to the consultation website, so I hope you'll stay tuned!

By the way, there are only 3 days left in the consultation, so get your thoughts in.  Or ye be walkin' the plank!

This blog is intended as a gathering place for Canadian Pirates and their thoughts.

Not "marine pirates" or "copyright infringers," but members and supporters of the Pirate Party of Canada - whose purpose is to push for sane Intellectual Property legislation.  We're looking for balance in Copyright, Patents, and Trademarks.

Libertatia was chosen as the name for this blog based on this description at Wikipedia.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.