There are so many articles about this issue pointing to made-up numbers about the amount of camcording that happens, how much of it is Canadian, and how much comes out of Montreal. To be honest, I like the idea of having a specialized bill to deal with this issue so that it can be separated from the larger set of copyright revision issues.
While I don't like my taxpayer money going to redirecting law enforcement from more important criminal activity, I think that having camcordering be clearly unlawful is appropriate. The misdirection of tax money is a minor problem in my mind compared to the infringement of users and IT property rights proposed in other copyright revision.
Charlie Angus is quoted in Variety and The Edmonton Sun as suggesting that the only way to really solve this problem is to monetize the system, rather than trying to rely on enforcement. The article suggests that many people want the Copyright act modernized, but doesn't at all document the fact that different people want it changed in different directions (IE: Recording industry wanting to turn back the clock, etc).
Article referenced on p2pnet in an article titled "Canada caves in to Hollywood".
Letter to the Edmonton Sun
Here is the letter I wrote to the Edmonton Sun.
Nobody thinks that recording movies at theaters and sharing them should be legal. But you need to look deeper into this story to find out what is really going on. First, the statistics are made up and inconsistent. The major studios claim to Canada that Montreal is responsible for the most, while simultaneously claiming to the US that New York constitutes the most. Industry figures have also clarified that by far the greatest source of movies is the studios themselves, with most movies unlawfully available online before they are previewed in any theater.
The real story is that this is part of an effort by the major studios and major music labels to claim that the sky is falling and that countries should adopt their proposed "solution". Their solution amounts to trying to turn back the clock to the industry bubble days before user generated content, home theaters and other uses of modern technology provided consumers with more options.
The thinking that came out of the USA in the early 1990's was this: If new communications technology can be abused to infringe copyright, then the solution is to not allow non-professionals the ability to own and control these technologies. I believe most people realize that allowing private citizens to participate in culture and have access to the Internet and home computers, home theaters and portable multimedia devices is far more beneficial to society than the harm of the small amount of copyright infringement that has been enabled.
I agree that Canada's copyright act needs to be modernized. We need our Copyright act to better enable the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights protected right for the average Canadian to participate in our culture, not turn back the clock to protect the outdated business models of a few largely foreign industry associations.
Canadians who want to make their voice on this issue heard should go to the Digital Copyright Canada forum at http://digital-copyright.ca
Russell McOrmond
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Full contact information at http://www.flora.ca/
Camcording law
I agree that simply making camcording of movies illegal may be the best solution. All sorts of entertainment companies/venues have policies against photographing and videoing: treat movie theatres the same and remove the issue of camcording from the area of copyright consideration, which is not the best place to deal with it.
It also seems that seeing as movie theatres are private property, owners could simply declare a no-videotaping edict, make it a condition of admittance, and toss the rascals out. If they aren't there, they can't video tape. Of course that would mean bringing back ushers/attendants.
May be a good thing..
It is possible that Canada is being smart by seeming to "cave in" to Hollywood demands. This may be a useful bargaining chip in trying to have Canada have smarter laws relating to unauthorized P2P or the private ownership/control of information technology.
The problem with making this about theaters is that it makes the law relatively useless compared to a law that dealt with unauthorized recordings in any private setting. I believe the problem of camcordering in changerooms and bathrooms is far more harmful to society than the problem of camcordering in theaters.
Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS) consultant.