This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 21st, 2009 at 11:47 am and is filed under Copyright Consultation . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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CCER at
Tue, Jul 21st, 2009
As promised the Canadian Government has put into place some details for its nationwide consultation on copyright modernization. The official website has been launched, ironically running on open source software, reminding one of the old idiom, actions speak louder than words. Not the most pleasing website ever seen, nor the most technically advanced, lets hope what it lacks in usability is made up for in content and effectiveness.
The website proves to be a decent clearinghouse for its calendar of events, most notably the Round Tables and Town Halls. While criticism is emerging regarding the closed-door, invitation only Round Table sessions, one can only hope the audio and video from these sessions will be released in their entirety to make up for this lack of transparency. Regarding the Town Halls, while Clement had indicated that the consultations would be coming to ‘a pasture near you’ turns out that unless your pasture backs onto Toronto or Montreal, the Town Hall will not be so near you and your only option will be an email submission or webcast participation.
Although the Conservative Government is to be commended for seemingly making an effort to consult on copyright, a number of concerns remain. For instance reports that the government intends on fast-tracking this legislation is very worrisome. There is word that the Government is looking to get a copyright reform bill signed into law before Christmas. Seeing as parliament will not be sitting again until Sept. 14, 2009 this bill would need to successfully navigate multiple readings and committee hearings in both the house and senate prior to being given royal ascent all in less than 3 months, whereas most legislation takes an absolute minimum of 6-8 months.
So the time is nigh to mobilize the troops. Be sure to post your responses/comments to the topics, register for the Town Halls (Toronto, Montreal) either the webcast or actually attending and submit your formal submission here. Time will tell if Clement and Moore are truly committed to doing things differently, however, if we all speak out we cannot be ignored.
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Tags: #copycon, Copyright Consultation, james moore, tony clement