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U.S. group wants Canada blacklisted over piracy

TM2-Megatron

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Saw this posted on another board I go to, figured I'd bring it here.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...y/National/home

WASHINGTON — A powerful coalition of U.S. software, movie and music producers is urging the Bush administration to put Canada on an infamous blacklist of intellectual property villains, alongside China, Russia and Belize.

Canada's chronic failure to modernize its copyright regime has made it a global hub for bootleg movies, pirated software and tiny microchips that allow video-game users to bypass copyright protections, the International Intellectual Property Alliance complains in a submission to the U.S. government.

The time has come for the United States to send a stern warning to Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government, which has failed to deliver on a promised overhaul of copyright laws and a policing crackdown, said the Washington-based group that represents companies such as Microsoft, Apple and Paramount Pictures.

“The industry groups feel very strongly that we need to ratchet this up,” IIPA legal counsel Steve Metalitz said.

“The disturbing thing is that the Canadian government doesn't seem to take this very seriously.”

He pointed out that the Harper government hasn't even drafted new copyright legislation.

The United States first placed Canada on a lower-priority watch list three years ago. Elevating Canada to the “priority watch list,” as the U.S. industry now wants, would put it among a select group of notorious copyright pirates, such as Belize, Venezuela, China, Turkey, Indonesia, Ukraine and Russia.

“Canada's long tenure on the USTR watch list seems to have had no discernible effect on its copyright policy,” the group lamented in a submission this week to U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab, George W. Bush's trade czar.

Once put on notice, failure to address U.S. concerns could result in trade challenges at the World Trade Organization, plus possible sanctions.

Officials at Industry Canada, which oversees copyright laws, would not directly address the U.S. industry's concerns yesterday, nor would they say when new legislation might be ready.

“The government of Canada is working actively on the copyright file and will take the time necessary to ensure that revisions to this important framework legislation have been fully thought through,” Industry Canada spokesman David Dummer said.

The complaint says Canada has emerged as “a leading exporter” of bootlegged copies of the latest movies as well as so-called mod chips, which are used to circumvent anti-piracy technology built into popular video game consoles, such as Sony PlayStation 2, Microsoft Xbox and Nintendo Game Cube.

“The problem of unauthorized camcording of films in Canadian theatres is now nearing crisis levels,” the group complained. It estimates that in 2006 as many as a quarter of all bootlegged films sold worldwide were made in Canada.

Unlike in the United States and most other developed countries, videotaping movies in theatres is not illegal in Canada. Likewise, there is no law in Canada that specifically bans mod chips and other piracy tools, as there is in the United States.

Making and distributing the chips has become so lucrative that the thriving business is now dominated by organized-crime rings, including the Hells Angels in Quebec and the Big Circle Boys in Ontario and British Columbia, according to the IIPA.

“Highly organized international-crime groups have rushed into the gap left by Canada's outmoded copyright law and now use the country as a springboard from which to undermine legitimate markets in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and elsewhere,” the group said.

The industry paints a grim picture of Canada as a country where copyright pirates operate with impunity because of lax laws, poor enforcement and a laissez-faire attitude.

“Canada remains far behind virtually all of its peers in the industrialized world with respect to its efforts to bring its copyright laws up to date with the realities of the global digital networked environment,” the group argued in its submission.

“Indeed, even the major developing countries have progressed further and faster than Canada in meeting the challenge.”

A spokesman for Ms. Schwab, the U.S. trade czar, was not immediately available for comment.

So, what's the general consensus here? Personally, I think their attempts to paint Canada as some kind of renegade country where copyright pirates sail the Great Lakes mass-producing mod chips and illegal DVDs for the innocent children of America comes off as amusing more than anything else. It seems these people won't be happy until everyone is subjected to the same ridiculously extreme laws the U.S. is.
 
Ignore them they're liars (50% of all movie piracy in canadian? When that got hooted down they dropped the number to 25%.).
Any use you don't pay them for is piracy in their view.:mad:
What you're seeing is part of the "digital land grab".
 
Whatever!

Maybe the Canadian Government does not control it's people like they do here! Sadly, this country is not much of a free country anymore! Everything is a money making scheme and we have to buy our rights as americans back from the government! Utterly sad!
 
Since most of the movies are made in the States, and thus the money stays here with our actors, actresses and production companies, what incentive does the Canadian government have to make and enforce laws to help keep money here?
 
Since most of the movies are made in the States,

Actually a number of films and a few television shows have been shot in Vancouver and in Toronto (amongst other places).

Toronto also hosts an international film festival, which attracts a lot of American actors and actresses.
 
Actually a number of films and a few television shows have been shot in Vancouver and in Toronto (amongst other places).

Toronto also hosts an international film festival, which attracts a lot of American actors and actresses.

Ok, so I guess my saying "most" was inaccurate? Sorry. It will be interesting to see what develops out of all of this.
 
Ok, so I guess my saying "most" was inaccurate?

Well, I suppose most Hollywood films are, but not all are. There has been an interest in shooting more films in Canada due to lower costs (this was especially true of some television shows like the X-Files, which was mostly shot in Vancouver).
 
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Ok, so I guess my saying "most" was inaccurate? Sorry. It will be interesting to see what develops out of all of this.
I bet nothing develops over this. It is just a news article, can any of this be confirmed as accurate? Notice they say:
A powerful coalition of U.S. software, movie and music producers
But they do not mention any names, this is just a publicity artical. I would not pay it any mind.
 
The few movies and shows filmed in Canada are the property of American studios and corporations, once the filming is done every thing is finished off and put together in American studios (Hollywood baby), U.S actors and employees when in Canada have their monies deposited in their accounts, it never leaves the USA.

I am not sure what Canada controls here in all of this and what is being pirated.

I believe this is bullsh.. and another attempt by the industry to blame and discredit anyone who may be taking studio and guild business out of Hollywood, California and the USA. Next they will also be blaming Fidel and Cuba.

I guess the movie industry's next step is to start claiming and campaigning that Canada has weapons of mass destruction and should be invaded to stop the Canadian pirates before they deploy all their weapons and arsenals against the U.S and the movie indstry.
 
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The U.S. is just Empire building, but we have to be careful cause empires do FALL.
I agree with ABC, we will next look for WMD and then invade.

I would not really worry or give credit on this report, as SLYFOX 1 mentions that its a lot of talk with no "real" names being mentioned, just like mainstream news now not mentioning real government people who give reports about Iran and its supply of arms to Iraqi insurgents. Just gathering up steam to invade Iran.

Just a lot of talk and they hope somebody is listening, and I am sure that no Hollywood studio is canceling their movie making in Canada because of this article.
 
The few movies and shows filmed in Canada are the property of American studios and corporations, once the filming is done every thing is finished off and put together in American studios (Hollywood baby), U.S actors and employees when in Canada have their monies deposited in their accounts, it never leaves the USA.


The threat is they will stop paying money to rent spots in Canada to shoot films; they will boycott the International Film Festival in Toronto; etc.

In my opinion, they are using pirating as an excuse to try to put pressure on the Canadian government to inflict the same kind of DRM laws on Canadians that also exist in the U.S.. I think it should be noted that while it's not illegal to take a camcorder into a theater in Canada, the establishment will kick people using it to film movies out of the venue (if they are noticed).
 
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