Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Government delays onerous IP legislation ... for now

Responding to a wave of protest from across the country, the federal government has decided not to introduce its U.S.-DMCA-styled legislation -- at least not today.

The legislation was a product of some intense lobbying, particularly from the U.S. This would be the country that gave us NTP vs RIM and which recently fined a woman US$220,000 for having 24 songs in a shared folder on her computer. Yes, they're now lecturing Canada on our IP laws, trying to keep the 21st century at bay for as long as possible under the guise of being anti-theft. This lobby even managed to get the Ontario Chamber of Commerce to endorse its position.

Fortunately, the pro-legislation lobby has been overwhelmed over the last few days by critics, which include many high-profile members of Canada's high-tech community. It's a story that's been gaining momentum in the media as the outrage has built throughout the country.

It's way too early to think of this as a victory -- the legislation could still be introduced later this week or some other time soon.

Meanwhile, Michael Geist's Facebook group, Fair Copyright for Canada, has now grown to more than 15,000 members, including several names that will be familiar to people in Waterloo tech circles.

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