Cry Havoc! and let slip the dogs of Copyfight!

Not discussing the latest Canadian copyright reform bill, or the Canadian DMCA as it has been touted, to kick off weblawg.net would be like Han Solo ignoring his friend in need barreling down the trench of a moon-sized space station.

Discussing the evolution of Intellectual Property in the information age is a major reason for this site. IP today is something like criminal codes in the 18th century; it is a regulatory paradigm for a new frontier. Our interactions – the interactions that are the silken web of society – are increasingly becoming dependent on the exchange of information. Human interaction has always been the product of information exchange – it has been said that the ability to talk is what separates us as a species, and other species with not-too-primitive forms of communication also evolve communities; what has changed is that the exchange itself is becoming informationalized. We no longer carry information upon the backs of mechanical means such as messengers, paper letters, carrier pigeons, etc., but instead entirely through electronic smoke signals carried passively by fibre-optic and copper. We can informationalize, or virtualize, nearly anything, and transmit it all in the same way, regardless of origin or destination. Music no longer needs vinyl, tape, or even aluminum, let alone a live performer to be exchanged or present to be perceived. Books don’t need paper; money doesn’t need coins or bank notes; you get my point.

What this means is that copyright and the IP regime is – and will continue to become more and more – pervasive in our daily lives. This is why Prof. Geist’s Fair Copyright group on Facebook has 20 000 members; this is why Minister Prentice has had to raise a hand to the U.S. Ambassador, the RIAA, etc., and listen to those who voted him into office.

Our Minister in Charge of Information Rights, has flipped and flopped on the bill that would reform Canadian copyright in the last week or so. I just want to note that it is now the Ministry of Industry handling copyright, a long overdue change from our heritage of leaving it in the hands of the Ministry of Heritage. There is an important reason for this: copyright in Canada descends from the Crown, with it s roots in Crown monopoly on printing dating back to 16th century England. The United States’ model of copyright finds its roots in their Constitution, drawing out an intellectual property model as an incentive to innovation and industry. I’ll end my praise of American IP here, as their implementation of this paradigm has left much to be desired since 1998, when Senator Leahy’s eloquent speech on modernizing copyright was misinterpreted into the DMCA that informs every frivolous lawsuit against teenage music consumers around the world.

In my next post, I’ll discuss why I feel that Canada has been, and may continue to be, in a unique place in the world, with phenomenal industrial and cultural opportunities if we maintain our sovereignty and take a considered stance in copyright and IP reform.