Last Thursday RMCP officers execute a raid in downtown Montreal, arresting 13 people and seizing illegal goods worth approximately $540 000. Those arrested face fines up to $1 million dollars or 5 years in jail.
I know what you're asking, "Was it drugs? Was it guns?" In truth it was neither, it was photocopied university textbooks ( http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2011/01/20/textbook-rcmp-raids.html ) While I understand that the Canadian Copyright Act is designed in part to protect the works of authors by granting them exclusive proprietary rights, this seems like a bit of a stretch from those laudable policy objectives. Do the university presses who publish the textbooks that students are required to buy truly need such vigorous protection?
At this point, it is also worth that the copyright framework was also designed to meet other policy goals, like the dissemination of knowledge and public education. Although education doesn't grant students a carte-blanche to infringe upon the copyright of others, it does raise the point that a copyright regime needs to balance the interest of title holders and users. That the government's latest attempt at copyright reform (Bill C-32) extends fair dealing exception for the purposes of education is indicative of the ongoing need to balance competing interests.
The biggest issue, however, is not the formal rights that the law grants but rather how such rights are exercised and enforced in practice. The vast majority of consumers are unclear as to what current uses are permissible under the fair dealing provisions. Moreover, fair dealing is a defense rather than a right, meaning that you have to wait until someone sues you for infringement to invoke the legal protections the law provides. This less than even playing field perpetuates the current imbalance between copyright holders and users in Canadian copyright law. Maybe it's time to rethink things...
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