The supposed 'public' consultations the Canadian government is having are about to come to a close. There have been accusations of interference, from online public submissions being altered (which the government vehemently denies, to stacking the deck of town hall meetings with bias in favour of the entertainment industry.
Meanwhile, various stakeholders are weighing in on their feelings and ideas regarding how Canadian copyright law should evolve, unfortunately, the average Canadian likely won't get a chance to read or hear it before a law is drafted.
Except for this one. Tucows will be making a submission to "focus on the role of service providers and how they are being miscast in this dialogue" and will include a brilliant article by David Weinberger discussing the fundamental misconception in linking copyright to creativity. An excerpt:
"Whether it's Walt Disney recycling the Brothers Grimm, Stephen King doing variations on a theme of Bram Stoker, or James Joyce mashing Homer up with, well, everything, thereís no innovation that isnít a reworking of whatís already there. An innovative work without cultural roots would be literally unintelligible. So, incentives that require overly-strict restrictions on our use of cultural works directly diminish the innovativeness of that culture."
The article itself starts right after the title: Copyright's Creative Disincentive.
More on how you can have your voice heard before it's too late.
Results of submissions so far.
No comments:
Post a Comment