Canada ranks among world’s top copyright offenders, reports IP watchdog

Canada is not only one of the world's biggest copyright offenders, it is also the wealthiest country among the 12 nations singled out in an international report this week to the US Trade Representative. The 2008 Special 301 Report by the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) submitted to the US Trade Representative on February 11 places Canada on its Priority Watch List, alongside the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation. The report derides Canada for taking no steps to modernize its copyright law. "Almost alone among developed economies in the OECD, Canada has taken no meaningful steps toward modernizing its copyright law to meet the new global minimum standards of the WIPO Internet Treaties, which Canada signed more than a decade ago," writes the IIPA, an alliance of American rights-holders groups including the Motion Picture Association of America and the Recording Industry Association of America. "Its enforcement record also falls far short of what should be expected of our neighbour and largest trading partner, with ineffective border controls, insufficient enforcement resources, inadequate enforcement policies, and a seeming unwillingness to impose deterrent penalties on pirates." As in 2007 when Canada was first elevated to the priority watch list from the regular watch list, the IIPA says the country's ranking underscores "US insistence that Canada take action to address the serious piracy problem it has allowed to develop just across our border." According to the report, Canada is a global manufacturing and exporting epicentre of tools aimed at circumventing technological protection measures, and international crime groups use the country as a jumping point from which to undermine legitimate markets. It adds that Canada's piracy problem seems to be getting worse and points to a lack of anti-piracy resources in Canada. Released every February since 2001, this year's IIPA report is particularly timely; Canada's Industry Minister Jim Prentice could introduce a new copyright bill within a matter of weeks, or even days. The IIPA makes the following recommendations on what should appear on that bill: Copyright Law Reform Enact legislation bringing Canada into full compliance with the WIPO Copyright Treaty and WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty Create strong legal incentives for Internet Service Providers to cooperate with copyright owners in combating online piracy Amend the Copyright Act to clarify the scope of the private copying exception for sound recordings Amend the Copyright Act to clarify liability for those who knowingly facilitate, encourage or contribute to infringement (such as illicit file-sharing services) Enforcement Make legislative, regulatory or administrative changes necessary to empower customs officials to make ex officio seizures of counterfeit and pirate product at the border without a court order Increase resources devoted to anti-piracy enforcement both at the border and within Canada Direct the RCMP, Canadian Border Services Agency and Crown prosecutors to give high priority to intellectual property rights enforcement, including against retail piracy and imports of pirated products, and to seek deterrent penalties against those convicted of these crimes The IIPA's annual report comes with annual criticisms. "This is clearly a blatant bullying attempt to influence domestic Canadian copyright reform, and the allegations are very wrong - especially since Canada already provides much stronger copyright protection in many important respects than the USA," blogged Ottawa-based copyright lawyer Howard Knopf. Thus far, the influence has been negligible. The 2007 Special 301 Report opened by stating: "Canada's long tenure on the USTR Watch List seems to have had no discernible effect on its copyright policy." Michael Geist, the Canada Research Chair of Internet and E-commerce Law at the University of Ottawa, noted in his blog that a Canadian foreign affairs official addressed the IIPA's report in front of a parliamentary committee last spring. "Canada does not recognize the 301 watch list process," said Nancy Segal, DFAIT's deputy director, intellectual property, information and technology trade policy division. "It's driven entirely by US industry. We have repeatedly raised this issue of the lack of objective analysis in the 301 watch list process with our US counterparts. I also recognize that the US industry likes to compare anyone they have a problem with, concerning their IPR regime, to China and the other big violators, but we're not on the same scale. This is not the same thing. If you aren't on the watch list in some way, shape, or form, you may not be of importance. Most countries with significant commercial dealings are on the watch list." The Globe's Biggest IP Offenders Argentina Canada Chile Costa Rica Egypt India Mexico People's Republic of China Russian Federation Saudi Arabia Thailand Ukraine Source: International Intellectual Property Alliance, February 11, 2008

Canada ranks among world’s top copyright offenders, reports IP watchdog

News | 02/14/2008 2:59 pm EST

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