Bill C-61 will Make most of us Criminals

I didn't think it was possible, but I hate the Conservative party even more now after the introduction of a regressive American-style copyright bill. I don't even know where to start with this damn bill. It simply sucks.

Imagine fining someone $20,000 for unlocking a cell phone! It's ludicrous. Adding a song from your CD to your kid's MP3 player will make you a criminal. Watching an out-of-region DVD will make you a criminal! If you watch a DVD on a Linux system, you will be a criminal. Do you have some old TV shows on VHS that you may or may never watch again? That collection will be illegal. Format shifting will be illegal.

The bill will criminalize the act of making a mixed tape (er...CD) and giving it away to, say, your girlfriend. I know this might sound like a Hi Fidelity moment, but this is an important life stage for many boys and men. It's part of the courtship ritual. The government has no right to interfere in that. Beside, we already pay a levy on blank media to cover such usage, so in the future, we will be paying a levy to cover an illegal activity!

CLA (the Canadian Library Association) and CAUT (the Canadian Association of University Teachers) have spoken out against this bill because it impedes access to electronic resources required for teaching and research and is a backlash against the victory won in the Supreme Court of Canada in the case between the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Ontario Bar Association, and CCH Canadian.

Michael Geist's blog is a good source of info, and there's a great discussion here.