[d@DCC] Media and Culture and Canada-U.S. relations

[Russell McOrmond]

http://www.canadians.org/browse_categories.htm?COC_token=coc_token&step=2&catid=352&iscat=1
    "Thus far, the free traders at Industry Canada seem to think this is a 
    good idea, while the cultural protectionists at Canadian Heritage are 
    adamantly opposed."

Dear Council of Canadians,

  I would like to talk to campaigners on this issue.  I strongly support
the message that we need to protect against media monopolization.  It is
important to realize that Canadian Heritage (department and parliamentary
committee) are some of our strongest opponents in this goal.  Their recent
Interim report on copyright is all about outsourcing cultural policy to a
combination of software vendors producing Digital Rights Management (DRM)
and extended/statutory licensing combined with "national treatment" for
collective societies.  This will greatly increase our already large
cultural deficit with the United States.

  I am the webmaster for http://digital-copyright.ca and have spent much 
of my life since 2001 fighting against policies which aim to protect 
incumbent (primarily US) content industry monopolies from advances in 
business models and communications technology.  The harm this will cause 
to Canadian culture cannot be underestimated, but is being ignored by 
Heritage who are pushing forward their agenda without even inviting 
dissenting opinion to the table.


Some recent articles:

Letter to MPs: Proposed copyright revision will take creativity backwards
http://www.digital-copyright.ca/discuss/4179

In reply to: Marxist-Lessigism
http://www.digital-copyright.ca/discuss/4180

Excess Copyright?  Towards a full spectrum of business models for
published works
http://www.flora.ca/russell/drafts/excess-copyright.html

Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage re-tables Interim Report on
Copyright Reform, with one summary of report
http://www.digital-copyright.ca/node/view/550

-- 
 Russell McOrmond, Internet Consultant: <http://www.flora.ca/> 
 Have you, your family, your friends (, your enemies) signed the
 Petition to the Canadian Parliament for Users' Rights in Copyright?
 http://digital-copyright.ca/petition/