http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/nationa...ile050324.html
OTTAWA - The federal government announced several proposed changes to Canada's Copyright Act on Thursday, aimed at stopping file sharing using programs like Kazaa.
If the amendments become law, internet service providers would be forced to make records of users who swap large numbers of songs or other material – like movies and television programs – online.
According to the announcement, the changes would "clarify that the unauthorized posting or the peer-to-peer file-sharing of material on the Internet will constitute an infringement of copyright.
"It will also be made clear that private copies of sound recordings cannot be uploaded or further distributed."
The proposed amendments are expected to be introduced in the House of Commons later in the spring.
The music industry is pushing to have the Copyright Act amended so it will be easier to sue file sharers in court.
"Clearly, once we get implementation there'll be no doubt ... it'll be illegal to engage in unauthorized file-sharing," Graham Henderson, the head of the Canadian Recording Industry Association, told the Canadian Press.
Under the reformed law, companies like Bell, Rogers and Shaw would be compelled to "play a role in curbing the misuse of their facilities for copyright infringement."
They and other service providers would have to alert subscribers when their connections are used for illegal file sharing, and would have to document the warnings that are sent out.
A court order would still be needed from prosecutors to have a look at the logs and identify the users in question.
The legislation also requires Canada to sign two international treaties sponsored by the World Intellectual Property Organization. By joining the treaties, the government would make it illegal for Canadians to swap music online.
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Looks like the days of Canada's legal downloading laws are almost over. Knowing our government though, this might be a long process.
OTTAWA - The federal government announced several proposed changes to Canada's Copyright Act on Thursday, aimed at stopping file sharing using programs like Kazaa.
If the amendments become law, internet service providers would be forced to make records of users who swap large numbers of songs or other material – like movies and television programs – online.
According to the announcement, the changes would "clarify that the unauthorized posting or the peer-to-peer file-sharing of material on the Internet will constitute an infringement of copyright.
"It will also be made clear that private copies of sound recordings cannot be uploaded or further distributed."
The proposed amendments are expected to be introduced in the House of Commons later in the spring.
The music industry is pushing to have the Copyright Act amended so it will be easier to sue file sharers in court.
"Clearly, once we get implementation there'll be no doubt ... it'll be illegal to engage in unauthorized file-sharing," Graham Henderson, the head of the Canadian Recording Industry Association, told the Canadian Press.
Under the reformed law, companies like Bell, Rogers and Shaw would be compelled to "play a role in curbing the misuse of their facilities for copyright infringement."
They and other service providers would have to alert subscribers when their connections are used for illegal file sharing, and would have to document the warnings that are sent out.
A court order would still be needed from prosecutors to have a look at the logs and identify the users in question.
The legislation also requires Canada to sign two international treaties sponsored by the World Intellectual Property Organization. By joining the treaties, the government would make it illegal for Canadians to swap music online.
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Looks like the days of Canada's legal downloading laws are almost over. Knowing our government though, this might be a long process.
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