Canada Wheel Out the Millenium Copyright Act

The Canadian government, who most people have accepted, in the pockets of the music industry lobbyists have revived attempts to implement their own version of America's Millennium Copyright Act.

The government had previously tried to introduce the same legislation back in December 2006 but were forced to withdraw it from the table quickly after a large public backlash.

The proposed bill seeks to appease the public with financial incentives while simultaneously taking away a large number of their fundamental rights regarding music consumption.

Under the potential laws, maximum liability for Canadians for illegal downloading will drop from $20,000 per infringement down to $500 per case, as long as the downloads were for personal use only.

However, should the same individual attempt to circumvent DRM on their legally purchased music files simply to enable them to be played via their favourite MP3 player, then (s)he could be facing the original hefty fine of $20,000 per infringement. So, want to copy an album to your iPod that was locked to Zune or something, you could be facing a $240,000 fine. (for a 12-track album)

The law also makes it illegal to make, sell or distribute technology which could be used to circumvent said DRM software. The quote from spin city by Industry Minister Jim Prentice goes like this, "It's a win-win approach because we're ensuring that Canadians can use digital technologies at home with their families, at work, or for educational and research purposes. We are also providing new rights and protections for Canadians who create the content and who want to better secure their work online."