Always an interesting read, the latest BLOG posting by PCT lawyer Howard Knopf talks about all the special interest lobbying from the USA and the misinformation they are spreading.
I can only conclude that there is a very deliberate and highly organized attempt to confuse and conflate counterfeiting and piracy on the one hand with legitimate grey market goods, user and artist friendly fair dealing exceptions and freedom from oppressive DRM and TPMs on the other hand. Credulous journalists and politicians are the targets.
...
Canada meets or exceeds its international legal obligations. Canada has not ratified the 1996 WIPO treaties and is under no obligation to do so. Signing a treaty is like dating. Ratifying is like marriage. We’ve gone on a date with the WIPO treaties. That’s all. Some have urged that we do more. But many observers would seriously question whether it was even a good date or a bad one.
What I'm waiting for is the other brand of shoes to drop: There are US elected representatives that are trying to reform the DMCA to reduce its harmful impacts, and there are Senators that are saying
Not so fast on the WIPO Broadcast Treaty. Given enough of a delay in Canada contemplating the ratification of the controversial 1996 treaties, the pressure from the US elected representatives and US government agencies will not only disappear, but they will be looking to Canada to help them out of the mess their government agencies created through dishonest policy laundering (NII --> WIPO --> DMCA).
