You could loose your iPod when traveling ...

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Copyright deal could toughen rules governing info on iPods, computers

Copyright deal could toughen rules governing info on iPods, computers
Vito Pilieci, Canwest News Service
Published: Monday, May 26, 2008
OTTAWA - The federal government is secretly negotiating an agreement to revamp international copyright laws which could make the information on Canadian iPods, laptop computers or other personal electronic devices illegal and greatly increase the difficulty of travelling with such devices.
The deal could also impose strict regulations on Internet service providers, forcing those companies to hand over customer information without a court order.
Called the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), the new plan would see Canada join other countries, including the United States and members of the European Union, to form an international coalition against copyright infringement.



The agreement is being structured much like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) except it will create rules and regulations regarding private copying and copyright laws.
Federal trade agreements do not require parliamentary approval.
The deal would create a international regulator that could turn border guards and other public security personnel into copyright police. The security officials would be charged with checking laptops, iPods and even cellular phones for content that "infringes" on copyright laws, such as ripped CDs and movies.
The guards would also be responsible for determining what is infringing content and what is not.
The agreement proposes any content that may have been copied from a DVD or digital video recorder would be open for scrutiny by officials - even if the content was copied legally.

[Paul Hammond]

As a matter of principle I have always been against piracy and copyright infringement. In fact, we battle that constantly with the U.S. trademark for the name "Sinclair" which we've owned in regard to a rock and roll band since 1989.

What I don't understand is the attempt at the abolition of the doctrine of fair use. I own thousands of songs on vinyl, cassette and CD that I paid for. In my honest opinion, (and the courts as far as I knew), I should be able to use those in any way I seem fit. I record copies of songs from vinyl to my laptop for my own personal use. This is only for my own educational use in learning songs, which is much easier than skipping the needle back and forth on a platter.

The ability for a border guard or "checkpoint charlie" to be the arbiter for
copyright infringement seems rather draconian to me. As we all know, to lose an ipod is one thing, but to lose a laptop carrying all your work in progress and personal data would be paralyzing to many. Who would pay the cost for the downtime needed for recovery? Definitely not the governing body that unjustly confiscated your intellectual property. Carry your secure property on a password encoded portable flash drive.

Do we need a security certificate as professionals in the music business to be able to carry highly sensitive material ie:mp3s and wav files across the border? Think about it, 99.9% of the people reading this post would need one. Rip one file from vinyl or cassette that you own and your done.
Good thing I have the "Get out of jail free" card! Peace, PH

[joeq]

government's solution to every challenge is more government

when all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a nail.

[Chaellus]

joeqgovernment's solution to every challenge is more government

when all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a nail.




theyve become heav handed and are the virus on whic we suffer from dfegad the goverment