Author Topic: P2P downloading, and now UP-loading, currently legal in Canada?  (Read 1278 times)

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Offline ruby_onix

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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4639920/

Basically, it had previously been interpereted that Canadian copyright law allowed Canadians to make copies of things, as long as they were for personal use.

Like having a photocopier in a library. Nothing wrong with making some copies of things, as long as you're not gonna try and compete with the book's publishers by selling the copies.

When applied to mp3s and P2P networks, it was considered that Canadians had a right to download, but not to upload.

The Canadian Recording Industry Association took some ISPs to court to try and get some info to sue 29 major mp3 uploaders, and not only did the judge shoot them down, but he basically said that an uploader has no clear reason to assume that the person getting the file will do anything illegal with it, like how the librarian doesn't know exactly what you plan on doing with your photocopy.

We're probably gonna get some additional new "international-stage compliant" laws on the matter sometime soon, like how the US got the DMCA, but if you remember, the DMCA supposedly had that special clause in it saying that it didn't apply to "abandonware".
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