A puppet rants against Canada's Bill C-60, the Canadian version of the hated Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
The Canadian Federal government is planning to pass Bill C-60, a Canadian version of the hated Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If you're unfamiliar with the DMCA, it's stupid, useless legislation that's been roundly criticized for destroying the copyright balance in the U.S. and has had a chilling effect on basic free speech. C-60 actually goes even further and we don't need or want this kind of law in Canada. It's unlikely to get artists more money, but will definitely help line the pockets of big record labels, media companies and (especially) their lawyers who are the only ones lobbying to get this bill passed.
Brian Hogg has put together a nice little puppet rant that explains why C-60 is a terrible idea and why it needs to be stopped.
There's a very good chance this law can be stopped; the current Canadian federal government is a minority and won't be able to pass the law without the support of at least one opposition party so we need to convince Liberal, NDP and BQ members of Parliament to vote against C-60. If you're a Canadian and want to help fight Bill C-60, Canada's leading copyfighter Michael Geist has posted a list of 30 things you can do to help fight the Canadian version of the DMCA.
12/12/07 Update: It looks like the grassroots effort to stop this bill have succeeded for now. It was to have been introduced in the House of Commons yesterday, but has been postponed due to the unexpected public outcry over it. Good work Canada!
