Digital Copyright Canada

When I first heard a group outside of the Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS) or Creative Commons movement use the word "CopyLeft", I thought they were simply using the term incorrectly. (See: Independent authors just wanting a little respect... from fellow creators and collective societies from 2006)

In the FLOSS movement it means something similar to ShareAlike with Creative Commons: the license says the copyrighted work can be freely shared (without additional permission/payment) as long as any derivatives are equally shared. The licensing model is not opposed to copyright in any way, and focuses on material rewards in the form of additional creative works rather than royalties.

I continue to hear the term "copy left" used, sometimes by those who consider it a positive term, but more often by people who are trying to use the term in a derogatory manner. In this context the term is not being used to reference to a licensing model, but a political philosophy.

This suggests that the term "copy left" references a liberal creators' rights philosophy, and the "copy right" refers to a conservative creators' rights philosophy. It is only a coincidence that those on the "copy left" also support CopyLeft style licensing.

(Including full article here -- configuration issue at IT World Canada. Read full article on IT World Canada's blog >> )

I am a big fan of audio blogs. Some people call them Podcasts because Apple iPod users seem to claim responsibility for making them popular. Leo Laporte over at TWIT.tv, a large audio/video blogging network with a long history in broadcasting, tried to convince people to call them Netcasts as they were simply broadcasting over the Internet. While I'm a listener to a few TWIT.tv shows, and a few other non-Canadian shows, I have always been looking for Canadian shows that cover some of the technology and political stories from the uniquely Canadian perspective.

The Swedish Pirate Party (Wikipedia) has won one seat (possibly two) in the 2009 European parliamentary elections.

The by-elections are now being extended into a general election. As of the dissolving of this parliament the seat standing was as follows:

Conservatives 127
Liberal 95
Bloc 48
NDP 30
Green 1
Independent 3
Vacant 4.

Pollster Nik Nanos did a talk (Video online) on how the Internet is changing politics.

First he notes that it hasn't thus far increased engagement, with declining voter turnout being one indication. I don't know if that is a good indication as my perception has been that the people most engaged on the Internet are more likely to feel their vote doesn't currently count, and thus are more likely to support electoral reform.

There is a video on Lessig08.org about the Change Congress movement he has launched as well as his current thinking about whether he might run for congress.

This should be interesting to Canadians for a few reasons.

Read the rest of this entry on IT World Canada's BLOG »

While watching a TV Ontario show last night (See BLOG post) with a panel on Copyright I heard a familiar statement: That Copyright is too distant an issue from people to actually change their votes.

This isn't what I have been hearing.

Copyright, Patent, etc lawyer Howard Knopf speculates about how Copyright could become an election issue given how some very articulate and informed Canadians are watching this file.

While there has been considerable finger-pointing about the past from all parties about Kyoto, a vote last night has clearly stated the current position of each of the parties. There is really no more need for debate about what parties will help do Canada's share in ensuring a future for our planet and our children, and which will not.

I'm not the sort of person to follow a specific political party. The concept of a political party, in general, deviates from my approach to democracy: I prefer to focus on the local candidates rather than the party for fear of inaccurate representation. An example of this would be when back in university where Peter MacKay was running in the Central Nova riding. At that time, he might've seemed an unlikely choice for me. He was so well spoken and energetic that I seriously considered voting for him. In the end, though, I felt he was too committed to his party's platform to be an adequate MP for me.