Canadian Recording Industry Claims That Canadian Copyright Proposal Is A $5k License To Infringe

from the how-out-of-touch-are-you? dept

Thu, Sep 16th 2010 2:34am — Mike Masnick

Michael Geist points us to an article about the state of Canada's proposed copyright reform bill, C-32, which has significant problems in that it basically tries to export failed DMCA provisions to Canada, driven largely by US diplomatic pressure. However, with C-32, it seems that no one's particularly happy with the entire bill. The article quotes the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) boss, Graham Henderson, complaining about the provisions that limit liability for non-commercial copying (while applauding most of the rest of the bill):

"Once this bill is passed, you could go online and steal every movie that's ever made, every book, and every song, put them on your hard drive, admit liability, and write a $5,000 check. That would be the full extent of it -- and it would be the first rights holder who would get all the money. Nobody else would get a cent. It's close to saying that for people who want to steal stuff, there's a compulsory license of $5,000."

It's difficult to think of a sentence that shows anyone more out of touch than that. Would anyone really want to pay $5,000 (not an insignificant sum by any means) for purely a non-commercial compulsory license? Whenever various compulsory licenses have been discussed, they've usually been in the range of $5/month or so. To pretend that anyone will just pay up $5,000 for non-commercial copying is just silly.

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Filed Under: c-32, canada, copyright, graham henderson, non-commercial, reform
Companies: cria

17 Comments

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Svante Jorgensen (profile), 16 Sep 2010 @ 2:52am

Compared to now
I agree that the proposal is silly and don't solve the real issues, but compared to recent infringement fines, it is not so much. Especially when you think about how small the chance of being caught is for private file sharers. And the chance would be even smaller if more people started to share, thinking "ah, its just $5k _if_ I get caught".
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PaulT (profile), 16 Sep 2010 @ 3:49am

"Once this bill is passed, you could go online and steal"

Meh, stopped reading there. How can it be "stealing" if you've effectively paid a licence? Wouldn't the "compensation" make it to the same people who would have gotten the original payment for the physical media? Moron.
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Anonymous Coward, 16 Sep 2010 @ 4:29am

I like it when they squeak, is funny.

$5000 or $5 million I wouldn't pay either.

But the music industry has nothing to fear from me, I wouldn't touch their crap with a ten foot pole.
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Simon, 16 Sep 2010 @ 4:35am

Songwriters Association of Canada President Eddie Schwartz feels the CMA's biggest flaw is the failure to provide a new marketplace for creators.
"The problem continues to be that creators need a new business model going forward, and the bill doesn't address that desperate need at this point," says Schwartz.
This sense of entitlement also amazed me... basically they want to site back while the Government to legislates them a business model.
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Anonymous, 16 Sep 2010 @ 4:55am

More importantly - if the damages are greater than $5k, the plaintiff can always ask, and prove, *actual* damages.
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Anonymous Coward, 16 Sep 2010 @ 5:13am

To be honest, $5K to be legally entitled to a copy of everything ever made sounds like quite a deal.
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Anonymous Coward, 16 Sep 2010 @ 5:22am

Re:
prove, *actual* damages.

Aye, there's the rub.
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NAMELESS.ONE, 16 Sep 2010 @ 5:25am

CRIA scammers and thieves
aren't this the same bunch that have collected 500 million in levies and are being sued for not paying it out?
300000 artists suing them as far back as 1980 for 6 billion?
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The Groove Tiger (profile), 16 Sep 2010 @ 7:22am

So buying stuff is just licensed stealing now?
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Pixelation, 16 Sep 2010 @ 7:49am

"That would be the full extent of it -- and it would be the first rights holder who would get all the money. Nobody else would get a cent."

And this is a bad thing because?

Poor CRIA wouldn't be collecting money for someone else's work. Boohoo!
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BruceLD, 16 Sep 2010 @ 7:56am

Subject
Umm...the CRIA makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

I already steal everything and anything i want without paying an extra penny.

Oh and the levies that they collect on blank media are supposed to be collected to replace the lost royalties to artists, however no one from any levy collection agency has ever proven that any artist has ever received a dime. I will bet though that those that work for the collection agencies are paying themselves anywhere from $150,000 to $500,000 a year including benefits such as use of a private jet and all expenses paid trips to luxury destinations all around the world.

Ordinary citizens like me can't use the Access to Information Act because the levy collection agency is not a government body, so they can pretty much do whatever they want with their money...including lie and cheat about who is actually getting it. Though somehow I bet that they are not immune to corruption investigation, but the people that would investigate them would be those that they have placed in power in the first place.

This whole thing is just amazing, but pirates are slowly bleeding the life out of the puss-infected lying sacks of crap. I can't wait til their system completely collapses so we can see true artistry explode and blossom freely--to quickly advance our culture exponentially. That's when TRUE and REAL artistry will flourish--not with manufactured fake talent from fake artists.
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Anonymous Coward, 16 Sep 2010 @ 8:29am

ya and if they cant prove they are paying its fraud right?
why hasn't the RCMP been called out to raid them take the documents and see if they are paying and to whom then go see if those they say they are paying actually received any money. AND yes it is quite easy to trace money in canada.

want to puke.
GO look at the cbc technology and science section and you will see a ton of video game stuff and the spending of 286 million to give to hire 800 people ( 32000 $ each for ten years)

and what the hell is that doing in that section when a video game should be in the arts and entertainment section?

NO ONE READS THOSE
thats UM WHERE RETARDED hollywood people put there crap.....
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JEDIDIAH, 16 Sep 2010 @ 8:54am

Sticker shock or bargain?
> To be honest, $5K to be legally entitled to a copy of
> everything ever made sounds like quite a deal.

That's like 5 years of subscribing to cable TV.
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Michael Long (profile), 16 Sep 2010 @ 9:28am

Re: Subject
There are plenty of good independent bands and labels out there. But since you "already steal everything [sic] and anything i want without paying an extra penny", I suppose you don't care to support them either.
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Michael Long (profile), 16 Sep 2010 @ 9:38am

Re:
Ditto. I already have roughly 4,000 songs in iTunes, many from iTunes and Amazon, but most from legally purchased CDs. At roughly $1 a song, that's $4K even before we get to the 100 or so movies (purchased), 250 or so audiobooks (Audible), various TV seasons (iTunes), and so forth.

That's easily $5K right there. So for the same amount I could have a disk with EVERYTHING???

Where do I sign up?
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Anonymous Coward, 16 Sep 2010 @ 9:47am

Re: Compared to now
Exactly. If he's accurately characterizing the bill (big "if" as it's hard to imagine who gets the single $5000 amount if you infringe numerous works), the deterrence is very minimal. Not only is the risk if caught minimal (yeah, $5,000 is nothing to sneeze at, but it's also not prohibitory even for someone making a relatively low income), but there is little chance you'll ever have to pay that amount.
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belgradar, 16 Sep 2010 @ 12:27pm

i live on a disiabiltiy so there is a prevision in the disiablity bill the no court can overrule. and make me pay charges like this
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