Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement = BAD
Have you heard about the €˜Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement,"
The agreement is being structured much like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) except it will create rules and regulations regarding private copying and copyright laws. Federal trade agreements do not require parliamentary approval. The deal would create a international regulator that could turn border guards and other public security personnel into copyright police. The security officials would be charged with checking laptops, iPods and even cellular phones for content that "infringes" on copyright laws, such as ripped CDs and movies. The guards would also be responsible for determining what is infringing content and what is not. The agreement proposes any content that may have been copied from a DVD or digital video recorder would be open for scrutiny by officials - even if the content was copied legally. Source:http://www.canada.com/topics/technology/science/story.html?id=ae997868-220b-4dae-bf4f-47f6fc96ce5e&p=1
Its being structured like a trade agreement so it won"t have to be put in front of Parliament. What this means is that when you cross the board the boarder guards will have the right to inspect your electronic equipment for IP such as MP3s, DVDs, home movies.
If you data is encrypted (like most of mine) they have the right to ask for the password to your data. If you refuse then you will not be allowed in the country. Just imagine if you are trying to catch a flight, you have 30 mins to get there but they have to make a copy of all your data, inspect if for IP infringements ect.
Most of my music is rips of Legitimate CDs that I own, PODcasts, and Creative Commons music. How is a boarder guard suppose to identify what I have rightly purchased and what I haven"t?
Fewer and Geist said, once Canada signs the new trade agreement it will be next to impossible to back out of it. In a situation similar to what happened in the Softwood Lumber trade dispute, Canadians could face hefty penalties if it does not comply with ACTA after the agreement has been completed. Source: http://www.canada.com/topics/technology/science/story.html?id=ae997868-220b-4dae-bf4f-47f6fc96ce5e&p=2
So after the agreements has been put in to place, We could start to see hefty penalties for breaches in the trade agreement. Like fair use. In Canada it is legal to make personal copies of music that you own for your own purposes
Except that private copying of music is legal in Canada [cb-cda.gc.ca]. the act of reproducing all or any substantial part of (a) a musical work embodied in a sound recording, (b) a performer's performance of a musical work embodied in a sound recording, or (c) a sound recording in which a musical work, or a performer's performance of a musical work, is embodied onto an audio recording medium for the private use of the person who makes the copy does not constitute an infringement of the copyright in the musical work, the performer's performance or the sound recording.
But this is not true in the USA, so any music that you make legal copies of in Canada are illegal in USA. Once Canada gets a few heavy fines for breaking the ACTA Parliament will be pushed in to making stronger laws to fight against IP thief and with that goes the need for a warrant to get access logs from our ISP, and other horrible things I don"t even want to think about.
I believe strongly against this, as I believe it only benefits USA companies like the RIAA and the MPAA. Its also seemed to me that it attempts to circumvent the democratic process by making it a trade agreement instead of a law that would have to be passed in parliament.
Please please contact your member of parliament and tell them what you think about this. List of all parliament members
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