Copyright deal would toughen laptop, iPod laws
 
Date: Sat, 24 May 2008 20:05:50 -0500 (CDT)


http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=642326df-30e7-4822-b919-1f6cd88b0c9d

  Calgary Herald -- Saturday, May 24, 2008

Vito Pilieci, Canwest News Service

Published: Saturday, May 24, 2008

The federal (Canadiab) government is secretly negotiating an agreement to 
revamp international copyright laws, which could make the information on 
Canadian iPods, laptop computers or other personal electronic devices 
illegal and greatly increase the difficulty of travelling with such 
devices.

The deal could also impose strict regulations on Internet service 
providers, forcing those companies to hand over customer information 
without a court order.

Called the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), the new plan would 
see Canada join other countries, including the United States and members 
of the European Union, to form an international coalition against 
copyright infringement.

The agreement is being structured much like the North American Free Trade 
Agreement except it will create rules and regulations regarding private 
copying and copyright laws.

Federal trade agreements do not require parliamentary approval.

The deal would create an international regulator that could turn border 
guards and other public security personnel into copyright police. The 
security officials would be charged with checking laptops, iPods and even 
cellular phones for content that "infringes" on copyright laws, such as 
ripped CDs and movies.

The guards would also be responsible for determining what is infringing 
content and what is not.

The agreement proposes any content that may have been copied from a DVD or 
digital video recorder would be open for scrutiny by officials -- even if 
the content was copied legally.

"If Hollywood could order intellectual property laws for Christmas what 
would they look like? This is pretty close," said David Fewer, staff 
counsel at the University of Ottawa's Canadian Internet Policy and Public 
Interest Clinic. "The process on ACTA so far has been cloak and dagger. 
This certainly raises concerns."

The leaked ACTA document states officials should be given the "authority 
to take action against infringers (i.e., authority to act without 
complaint by rights holders)."

Anyone found with infringing content in their possession would be open to 
a fine. They may also have their device confiscated or destroyed, 
according to the four-page document.

The trade agreement includes "civil enforcement" measures, which give 
security personnel the "authority to order ex parte searches" (without a 
lawyer present) "and other preliminary measures."

In Canada, border guards already perform random searches of laptops at 
airports to check for child pornography. ACTA would expand the role of 
those guards.

On top of these enforcement efforts, ACTA proposes forcing Internet 
service providers to hand over personal information pertaining to "claimed 
infringement"  or "alleged infringers" -- users who may be transmitting or 
sharing copyrighted content over the Internet.

The ACTA discussion paper was leaked online by Sunshine Media, the firm 
that runs the Wikileaks.org website -- a whistleblowing website created to 
help circulate secret documents.

It is expected the new agreement will be tabled at July's meeting of G-8 
nations in Tokyo.