[oclug] Opposition to Canadian DMCA

[Milan Budimirovic]

Russell McOrmond asked me to forward this item to the OCLUG list. 


Introduction to the Canada DMCA Opponents forum.
------------------------------------------------


  This is an introduction to the materials to be posted at
http://www.flora.org/dmca/ , as well as the
canada-dmca-opponents at flora.org mailing list.


  The Government of Canada is launching the process for reforming
Canadian
copyright legislation over the years to come. This process has sparked
the creation of this online forum, as well as a number of other forums.

The government process can be read about at:
  http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/SSG/rp01100e.html


  Most controversial may be the provisions similar to the USA's Digital
Millennium Copyright Act which not only makes legal the circumvention by
copyright holders of copyright's Fair Use provisions, but also makes the
circumvention of this circumvention a crime.

  To many, this circumvention of fair use is in complete opposition to
the
ideals of copyright to create a balance between the privileges that
governments grant to copyright holders on their temporary monopoly on
the
intellectual work, and the rights of the users of the materials as well
as
the good of society as a whole.

  The purpose of this list is to discuss this process, and to facilitate
discussion between similar-minded people who wish to make submissions,
as
well as promote a more balanced reform process.  Subscribe/unsubscribe
instructions are posted at http://www.flora.org/dmca/


Note:  This list is a publicly archived list, and messages submitted are
not filtered (beyond basic technical issues such as a rejection of
messages containing file attachments, or messages from unknown authors).
Do not send a message to canada-dmca-opponents at flora.org that are not
intended for public view. This very specifically means that you should
never submit information from others that is not already public, or for
which you have not received permission to submit.


Other lists:
------------

  There are also alternative lists being created.  The first one to be
created was abolish-ip at contre.com

To subscribe, send a message to: abolish-ip-subscribe at contre.com

  This group not only will be discussing responses to the consultation
process, but will also be discussing some of the more general aspects of
those laws commonly lumped together under the phrase "Intellectual
Property".  The name of the list should make obvious the intent of it's
creators.



  Note: Some of us do not agree with the use of this phrase:
 
<http://www.fsf.org/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html#IntellectualProperty>
  and thus will concentrate in discussing the specific legal term such
as 
  patents and trademarks, with this specific forum being about
  potential changes to copyright law.

---
 Russell McOrmond, Internet Consultant: <http://www.flora.ca/>
 RMS clarifies Freedom http://www.gnu.org/press/2001-05-04-GPL.html
 Free Sklyarov http://www.dibona.com/dmca/ http://www.freesklyarov.org/ 
 http://www.flora.org/dmca/ Oppose DMCA in Canada!