Privacy Digest

Michael Geist - U.S. Copyright Report More Rhetoric Than Reality: "This week the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), the U.S. government department responsible for international trade, will release its annual report card on intellectual property protection around the world. The 'Special 301 report' typically identifies about 50 countries that the U.S. has targeted for legal reform.

This year, it is a virtual certainty that Canada will receive special attention, with the U.S. claiming that the country has neglected to address critical issues and suggesting that it is rapidly emerging as a piracy haven. While the report will generate media headlines and cries for immediate action from Industry Minister Maxime Bernier and Canadian Heritage Minister Bev Oda, the reality is that Canada's record on intellectual property protection meets international standards.

Moreover, differences between the U.S. and Canadian economies - the U.S. is a major exporter of cultural products and has therefore unsurprisingly made stronger copyright protection a core element of its trade strategy while Canada is a net importer of cultural products with a billion dollar annual culture deficit - means that U.S.-backed reforms may do more harm than good.

In fact, the U.S. claims fail to recognize that the current Canadian legal framework is successfully supporting a rapidly developing digital marketplace featuring digital download music sales that grew by 122 percent last year (nearly double the U.S. rate) with twice as many online music sellers as the U.S. when measured on a per capita basis.

Consider three issues likely to generate criticism in the Special 301 report - the fact that Canada has not ratified the World Intellectual Property Organization's Internet treaties, extended the term of copyright by an additional 20 years, or introduced anti-camcording legislation designed to stem movie piracy.
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