The Act... and what it says about Providers

As Rogers is trying to defend it's throttling action and net neutrality violations before the CRTC... says its internet interference is necessary, but minimal.. (in a pigs eye) Catch this statement...If the television network or Apple wants to provide its customers with a fast download experience, it must pay for the bandwidth capacity. If the content provider wants to sidestep those distribution costs, it opens itself to the ISP's network management practices, said Mike Lee, Rogers's chief strategy officer.

Sec. 27 (2) of the Telecommunications Act, which reads:

"No Canadian carrier shall, in relation to the provision of a telecommunications service or the charging of a rate for it, unjustly discriminate or give an undue or unreasonable preference toward any person, including itself, or subject any person to an undue or unreasonable disadvantage."

Sec. 36 also says: "Except where the commission approves otherwise, a Canadian carrier shall not control the content or influence the meaning or purpose of telecommunications carried by it for the public."

CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein, however, last month said the regulator needs additional tools in the form of monetary fines to punish ISPs if they break the rules.

In the United States, Comcast was scared into promising that it will cease throttling peer-to-peer usage by the end of this year after appearing before a Federal Communications Commission probe in February.

http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/06/10/tech-rogers.html

The Government of Canada has introduced Bill C-61, An Act to Amend the Copyright Act. The proposed legislation is a made-in-Canada approach that balances the needs of Canadian consumers and copyright owners, promoting culture, innovation and competition in the digital age.

What does Bill C-61 mean to Canadians?

Specifically, it includes measures that would:

* expressly allow you to record TV shows for later viewing; copy legally purchased music onto other devices, such as MP3 players or cell phones; make back-up copies of legally purchased books, newspapers, videocassettes and photographs onto devices you own; and limit the "statutory damages" a court could award for all private use copyright infringements;
* implement new rights and protections for copyright holders, tailored to the Internet, to encourage participation in the online economy, as well as stronger legal remedies to address Internet piracy;
* clarify the roles and responsibilities of Internet Service Providers related to the copyright content flowing over their network facilities; and
* provide photographers with the same rights as other creators.

What Bill C-61 does not do:

* it would not empower border agents to seize your iPod or laptop at border crossings, contrary to recent public speculation

What this Bill is not:

* it is not a mirror image of U.S. copyright laws. Our Bill is made-in-Canada with different exceptions for educators, consumers and others and brings us into line with more than 60 countries including Japan, France, Germany and Australia

Bill C-61 was introduced in the Commons on June 12, 2008 by Industry Minister Jim Prentice and Heritage Minister Josée Verner.

For more information, please visit the Copyright Reform Process website at www.ic.gc.ca/epic/site/crp-prda.nsf/en/home

Thank you for sharing your views on this important matter.


The Honourable Jim Prentice, P.C., Q.C., M.P.
Minister of Industry

The Honourable Josée Verner, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Canadian Heritage, Status of Women
and Official Languages and Minister for
La Francophonie

DVD copying, the new bill actually expressly criminalizes it, whereas before it would have been legal.

No back-up copies of laser discs, video-CDs, DVDs, or any other audio-visual media with the exception of videocassettes.

P2P technology, this new bill imposes a $20,000 fine for "making available".

ISPs get served with a notice, you get it too... and they get your info.

more rebuttals on Slash, but Canada is setting up it's people to lose if this makes Royal assent. But there is a question about that.... it will not happen until Sept.. and a lot of change could happen.

http://news.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/12/1852215&from=rss