OTTAWA (AFP) — The government of Canada proposed a new copyright law on Thursday said to make it easier to prosecute online piracy, while reducing fines for illegal downloads for personal use.
"It is critical that we update Canada's copyright laws ... to bring us in line with new technologies as well as international standards," Industry Minister Jim Prentice told reporters.
The proposed law aims to better protect creators "who want to secure their work online," while at the same time ensuring "Canadians can use digital technologies at home to enjoy with their families or at work or for educational and research purposes," he said.
"The intent of the bill is to achieve a balance on the rights of creators and consumers," Prentice said.
The opposition slammed the government for not broadly consulting with stakeholders on copyright issues, saying its legislation is "unclear" and its provisions are "not enforceable."
Under the current law, individuals found guilty of illegally downloading copyrighted music or video files from the Internet for private use could be liable for up to 20,000 dollars in damages for each breach.
The government's draft legislation would reduce penalties for individuals to 500 dollars for all infringements.
However, if a person hacks a digital lock or distributes copyrighted files online without permission, uploading them to a website or using peer-to-peer software, for example, they could still face up to 20,000 dollars in statutory damages.
The new act also allows individuals to transfer legally-obtained copyrighted materials to an unlimited number of formats, such as MP3 players, DVDs or computers, as long as the device is one's own.
And a person would still be permitted to record television broadcasts to view at a later time, but cannot store them indefinitely or build a library of telecasts.
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