Paul V's blog

Each film at the Toronto International Film Festival (tiff) is preceded by a warning about piracy. It reads:

TIFF piracy warning. Picture totally not taken by me

It is illegal to copy or record any portion of a film or take a photograph of the screen without the permission of the copyright owner. TIFF reserves the right to undertake anti-piracy measures and to expel anyone recording or photographing.

I’m no lawyer, but that sounds like a load of crap. We already know that the Copyright Act carves out a number of exceptions. For example, Part III tells us that:

29. Fair dealing for the purpose of research or private study does not infringe copyright.

29.1 Fair dealing for the purpose of criticism or review does not infringe copyright if the following are mentioned: [...]

So under copyright law in Canada, an audience member could legitimately record a portion of the movie for those purposes without it being an infringement. However, the story doesn’t end with the Copyright Act. In 2007 the government passed an “anti-camcording” law which makes recording in a theatre into a criminal offense. Specifically, C-59 makes into a criminal:

A person who, without the consent of the theatre manager, records in a movie theatre a performance of a cinematographic work within the meaning of Section 2 of the Copyright Act or its soundtrack

The most reasonable interpretation of “record” would be to assume it means “take video of.” It seems like a stretch to have it include “take a picture of the screen” since the entire purpose of the act is to prevent people from making bootlegs of movies, not to stifle criticism. I’m sure that nobody has ever been prosecuted for taking a quick still of the screen in a theatre. It would have been nice for Parliament to actually take some time and think through the Act and define all the terms, but this kind of crap law is what you get when you rush through a law because of an industry PR campaign.

Even if we assume that recording includes taking a picture, it does NOT require the permission of the copyright holder, as claimed by the TIFF warning. The Act actually specifies whose permission is required, and it’s “the theatre manager.”

Am I wrong in my interpretation of Canadian law covering making recordings in a theatre? If not, why does the film festival need to lie in its warning. Would a simple “Please don’t pirate” not have sufficed? We could all still yell “yarr!” without having to feel angry about being lied to.

Film, IP copyright, copyright for canadians, piracy, toronto international film festival

For posterity, here’s an archive of my tweets during the Toronto copyright consultation town hall. I’ve added links to videos of speakers I comment on, as well as some corrections, in [square brackets]. Note that people are still using the #copycon hashtag on twitter, check it out for updates.

3:15p: All set for tonight’s copyright townhall. Too bad RIM broke Yatca or I’d liveblog it. Watch the webcast: http://bit.ly/17hUin
5:05p: Got my badge for #copycon. I also got lottery ticket #14 for speaking. Guess I’m a keener.
5:57p: Pretty quiet at #copycon so far, with doors opening in 20. I can see about 15 people http://mypict.me/sgh9
6:49p: Getting started! http://mypict.me/shpH
7:04p: Hon Tony Clement (industry) opens the #copycon town hall http://mypict.me/shMC [watch]
7:18p: The crowd at TO #copycon is really pro-media-levy. Lots of cheers for jazz musician who wants to extend it to ipods [Sophie Melman, watch]
7:23p: Steve Kane, president of Warner Music Canada: “Looking for the ability for artists to make choices” #copycon http://mypict.me/sibB [watch]
7:40p: Holy cow just went. Very nervous, totally unprepared. Heart still going 150 bpm. Got through my talking points. #copycon
7:45p: Warner rep: “a lot of artists are afraid to speak up for themselves”. Has he met any artists? #copycon
7:48p: Wow, I was wrong about notice-and-notice being accepted. IP lawyer is pro notice-and-takedown! #copycon
8:07p: This guy is great! Three great non-industry minutes! Make me wish I prepared better. #copycon
8:12p: Think the industry reps are at least going to earn themselves big bonuses for showing up en mass? Bonuses are good for the economy!
8:23p: Mickey mouse perpetual copyright just mentioned. Nobody has pushed for term extensions yet, which is nice. #copycon
8:26p: Pres ACTA:”Thrilled by opportunities.. also need to make a living.. Canada needs to implement WIPO.. expand private copying regime” #copycon [note that that should have been ACTRA]
8:28p: quote I wanted to close with: “Instead of bolstering ‘intellectual property,’ we should be forging ‘intellectual policy’” #copycon [from Copyrights and Copywrongs]
8:34p: Bill Freeman, chair of Creators’ Copyright Coalition: “fair dealing will be a disaster” #copycon
8:39p: “Don’t do anything the Americans are doing.” Best close so far. #copycon [Daniel, watch]
8:45p: Great job @balleyne! Excellent speech and you’re first to address the “right to get paid” and talk about the roots/origins/purpose. #copycon [watch]
8:54p: WOW worst characterization of the voices here ever. His analysis: four camps; “artists”, “pirates”, “exception-ists”, “do nothings” #copycon
8:55p: Notice that the pro-WIPO/big copyright industry has relabeled itself as “pro-reform” and relabeled the opposition as “anti-reform”? #copycon
9:02p: Tony Clement closes with the claim that we need to implement WIPO without establishing why or what the rush is. #copycon
12:50a: http://img.ly/37x This is what the #copycon next 3 speaker screens looked like (@russellmcormond)

IP copycon, copyright, copyright for canadians

On Thursday, August 27, 2009 the Government of Canada held a town hall meeting in Toronto as part of their copyright consultations. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, or what format it would be. Earlier in the year I attended a town hall held by MP Olivia Chow, which was more interactive — there was a panel and participants both ranted and asked questions of the panel.

This Thursday’s town hall was much more regimented. Because of the number of participants and the limited amount of time, speakers were drawn from a hat. Each speaker had the floor for three minutes, and then the next speaker began promptly. While I appreciated the hard time-cap on rants, the format prevented anything resembling a dialog. Each person went up and said their piece, one after the next.

There was definitely a preponderance of music-industry folk. One count of industry reps in the first hour had: “3 Warner, 1 Sony, SOCAN, AVLA, CRIA spokesperson, CRIA lawyer, CACN chair.” Although there has been talk about the music industry stacking the deck, I think that’s a little hyperbolic. Basically, we seem to be on a road where the role of the labels will be vastly changed; instead of being the gatekeepers, they should become enablers. Since that will take time, and not everyone will keep the same jobs, they’re naturally fighting with any available tool to ensure the continuance of their way of life. While it’s frustrating that the town hall ended up being dominated by their voices, it’s not surprising, nor do I think it was due to unethical behavior.

I wasn’t really prepared to speak, so when my number got called I scrambled to get something cohesive out. I had a list of points I wanted to address, and I got through some of them. In hindsight, there were likely more important points. It would have been nice to have more time to explain the issues in depth, instead of trying to hit a list of points to add a tally to Tony Clement’s tally.

For more coverage, see:

• My tweets from live-tweeting the townhall
• #copycon on twitter
  
• Michael Geist’s recap
  
• Now’s coverage
  
• CBC Spark press video
  
• Paul T’s blog post

Videos are also available:

• full video thanks to @ossguy (250 meg wmv warning)
• playlist on youtube for those who would prefer shorter clips (slowly adding clips as I cut them)
  

IP copycon, copyright, copyright for canadians