In an interview from CNET news.com, Michael Geist, the Canada research
chair in Internet and e-commerce law at the University of Ottawa, was
asked if Canadians can legally download copyrighted music from
peer-to-peer networks.
His response was as follows:
"The short answer is: Nobody knows for sure. But the issue is far
murkier than in other jurisdictions like the United States. The key
provision in Canada's copyright legislation is a private copyright
exemption that lets Canadians make private copies for noncommercial
use. The way we justify the exemption is by way of a levy that applies
to blank media such as blank CDs and blank audio cassettes.
With the exemption, there are many who believe that those who download
music for noncommercial purposes from P2P networks could avail
themselves of this legal defense. This has never been tested in court.
The recording industry is of the opinion that this violates the spirit
of the law if not the letter.
[...]
I'm inclined to think that you'd have a pretty good argument as an
individual user--that personal, noncommercial copying is permitted by
the exemption.
The one caveat--and this is where there have been many myths--is that
there is little doubt under Canadian copyright law that making those
same songs available to others is not permissible.
[...]
It's very clear that the exemption applies only to individuals who
make copies and does not authorize others to make copies.
When people compare the situation in the United States to the
situation in Canada, it's a bit of a misnomer to say we couldn't see
the same suits arise. In Canada, the making available of songs would
be treated in a similar fashion."
In short, michael believes you can download all you want, but you
can't share what you've downloaded.
Source: http://news.com.com/2008-1028-5097180.html |
