CopyNight Toronto

CopyNight Toronto: Pints Tomorrow, Tuesday the 26th

Dear CopyNight Toronto:
Sorry for the radio silence in July! I'm back in town now - many
thanks to Todd & Damien for hosting in June. This month's
CopyNight happens to fall during the week of the first town hall
meeting on Bill C-61. If you're thinking about heading to
Coldwater on Thursday, or if you just want to catch up on what's
going on in Canadian copyright law, join us tomorrow for a drink!
Here are the details:
Where: Victory Cafe
When: 7 P.M.
Host: Ren Bucholz
(416 300 5316 if you get lost!)
If you want to know more about the C-61 town hall, see:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=23533062529

Hope to see you tomorrow!
Cheers,
Ren
---------------------
General List Message:
Dear CopyNighters,
Labo(u)r Day is almost upon us. It's an election year in the
United States. You know what I'm getting at? That's right: someone
needs to go directly from the Democratic National Convention to
Burning Man, then shamble to the Republican National Convention in
Minneapolis. It would be the weirdest road trip in the history
of everything, guaranteed. And it would provide an opportunity to
ask Sen. Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic vice presidential
nominee, about his long history of voting the wrong way on
technology and copyright issues!
If you can't make the trip, you can wonder how it'd be over pints
at this month's CopyNight! Most chapters meet this Tuesday,
August 26th, in cities around the world. Be sure to check the
website for details on your local chapter, and shoot us an email
if you'd like to start something in your city!
http://copynight.org/
For more information on Biden's record on technology and copyright
issues, see this article:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10024163-38.html
Will McCain's VP-pick have a better record? Will people vote on
information policy issues? Will you? Lots of funs stuff to
discuss at this month's CopyNight - hope you can join us!
Cheers,
Ren Bucholz
CopyNight Toronto

CopyNight Toronto: Meeting Tomorrow, Tuesday the 24th!

Dear CopyNight Toronto,
As you probably know, a lot has happened in Canadian copyright
this month. Before I go further, the logistics:
Where: Victory Cafe
When: 7 P.M.
Host: Damien Fox & Todd Ritchie
(Ren is in San Francisco until August)
Hope you can join us!
Industry Minister Jim Prentice finally introduced his long-awaited
copyright "reform" bill on June 12. In the coming months, you
will hear Bill C-61's proponents say that it updates Canadian
copyright law and brings us in line with both the digital economy
and the law of other developed countries. You will hear that it
was "made-in-Canada." And you will hear that it adds all sorts of
new rights for consumers. Unfortunately, all of this spin is
designed to distract us from the proposal's fatal flaw.
The central feature of Prentice's legislation is the following:
Bill C-61 makes it illegal to circumvent the locks on digital
content--known as "digital rights management" or "DRM"--for any
reason. This is the approach that the US has successfully pushed
around the world, and it just doesn't work. It constrains
legitimate users while doing little or nothing to stop piracy.
Canadians will be poorly served if Prentice successfully pushes
this through Parliament.
To put the DRM provisions in context, none of the bill's
consumer-friendly rhetoric about back-ups and moving music to your
iPod will matter if a copyright holder decides to slap DRM on the
content you buy. The same is true for Bill C-61's educational
provisions. This is not an acceptable deal.
This is the bill that all copyright-watchers have been waiting
for, and the time to start organizing against it is now (well,
tomorrow night). Over the next months, a vigorous campaign will
be mounted to fix or kill Bill C-61, and having a cohesive group
of Torontonian copyfighters will be extremely valuable. So come
out to the Victory, have a pint, and start the rabble-rousing with
some friendly geeks!
Cheers,

CopyNight Toronto: No Meeting Tonight!

Hey CopyNight Toronto,
It looks like we won't hit critical mass tonight, so I'm going to call off the meeting. I hope that everyone who went out to Ottawa had a good trip, and that we'll have some good stories for next month!
Cheers,
Ren

CopyNight Toronto: Rally in Ottawa, RSVP for a Toronto Meet

Dear Toronto CopyNight,
Summer is on, and things are getting hot in Ottawa. Lots of folks
are headed east today for the Net Neutrality rally at Parliament
Hill: http://netneutralityrally.ca/
Also, there is fresh speculation that Minister Prentice is
planning to introduce his long-awaited copyright bill within the
next few weeks:
http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/2942/125/
I know that the folks in Ottawa won't be able to make it back
before our normally scheduled meeting time, so I wonder if we
should have a meeting tonight? If you're up for a Toronto meeting
at 8 PM at the Victory Cafe, please RSVP to ren@trubble.com before
5 PM today. I'll send something out by 5:30 that informs everyone
of whether there are enough people in town to justify a meet.
Thanks, and safe travels to everyone headed to Ottawa!
Cheers,
Ren
416 300 5316

CopyNight/Fair Copyright Canada Meeting Tomorrow, New Venue!

Hey CopyNight Toronto!
Our next meeting is tomorrow (Tuesday, February 26th), and it will
be at a different location and time. Since we had to reschedule
the Fair Copyright for Canada, Toronto Chapter meeting, we thought
it would make sense to double it up with CopyNight. So tomorrow's
meeting should be very well attended and topical! Here are the
details:

The Gladstone Hotel
1214 Queen Street West
7:00 pm
(Queen West at Dufferin)
Map: <http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=1214+Queen+Street+West+toronto&sll=43.648498,-79.392185&sspn=0.067447,0.131664&ie=UTF8&z=16&iwloc=addr>;
Ren's Cell: 416/300.5316
As always, for the new folks, I'm the tall guy with glasses and dark, slightly disheveled hair. Hope to see you there!
Ren

Next CopyNight Toronto is Tomorrow, Tuesday the 29th!

Dear CopyNight Toronto,
Happy 2008! It's been two months since our last get-together, and
boy have they been eventful: a bad Canadian copyright bill mooted,
then scared away from the light of day by an Facebook phenomenon
with over 30,000 subscribers; the prospect of said bill rearing
its ugly head in the near future; and how about that Scrabulous?
So much to talk about, I think that tomorrow, Tuesday the 29th
would be a great time for the next CopyNight! Details:

Victory Cafe
581 Markham Street
8:00 pm
(One block south of Bloor, one block west of Bathurst and just
south of the Markham Street exit at the Bathurst subway station)
Map: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=581+Markham+Street+Toronto+Ontario&num=1&spn=0.02%2C0.04
Ren's Cell: 416/300.5316
As always, for the new folks, I'm the tall guy with glasses and
dark, slightly disheveled hair. Hope to see you there!
Cheers,
Ren
PS: I realize that this month we're meeting on the FIFTH Tuesday
of the month (thanks for pointing that out, Todd!). That's just
because I have trouble counting higher than three... Next month
we'll be back to the fourth Tuesday, and I apologize if anyone was
thrown off by my bad math. I owe you a drink!

CopyNight Toronto is Tomorrow, Tuesday the 27th!

Hey CopyNight Toronto,
This is a reminder that this month's CopyNight is tomorrow, Tuesday, November 27th:

Victory Cafe
581 Markham Street
8:00 pm
(One block south of Bloor, one block west of Bathurst and just south of the Markham Street exit at the Bathurst subway station)
Map: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=581+Markham+Street+Toronto+Ontario&num=1&spn=0.02%2C0.04
Ren's Cell: 416/300.5316
Also, I hear that the new copyright bill is coming out before Parliament takes its holiday break, so this will be the last meeting before that fight commences in earnest. From what we hear, the bill retains the "notice and notice" provisions of Bill C-60, but it caves on the antircumvention provisions. In other words, it'll be much like a Canadian DMCA. To find out what all that means, and what you can do about it, come grab a drink tomorrow night!
As always, for the new folks, I'm the tall guy with glasses and dark, slightly disheveled hair. Hope to see you there!
Ren

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Dear CopyNighters,
Black Friday is behind us and eggnog is back in the dairy aisle,
which can mean only one thing... it's time for the last CopyNight
of 2007! Come cheat on your advent calendars while talking tech
and copyright with likeminded geeks. Most chapters meet this
Tuesday, November 27th, in cities around the world. Be sure to
check the website for details on your local chapter, and shoot us
an email if you'd like to start something in your city!
http://copynight.org/
=-=-=-=-=-
Newsiness
=-=-=-=-=-
* France To Monitor the Net for Copyright Infringement
Looking for ways to spend that surplus of French tax dollars,
President Nicolas Sarkozy is pleased to announce a new government
agency that will track down Internet users who disrespect
copyright. How does it work? By getting ISPs to turn over their
customers, of course! According to the CBC:

"Internet providers will monitor what their
customers are doing and pass on information to the
new body about web surfers who are consistently
pirating material."
Before you bring up recent studies that show users of peer-to-peer
networks buying more music than the average consumer, remember
that this is a moral(e) issue:

"Sarkozy said he feared the internet was becoming
a "lawless zone where outlaws can pillage works
with abandon or, worse, trade in them in total
impunity. And on whose backs? On artists' backs.""
Take that, lawless outlaws.
Links
CBC Story:
<http://www.cbc.ca/arts/media/story/2007/11/24/france-illegal-downloaders.html>;
Discussion of recent report on P2P and music purchasing habits:
<http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/2395/125/>;
---------------
* US to Tie University Funding to Copyright Enforcement?
A new piece of US legislation would require universities to 1)
provide students with legal music downloading options and 2)
consider technology-based measures to stop downloading on campus
or 3) lose government funding for student aid. What a deal for
record companies! Step 1 suggests that schools may have to get
campus-wide licenses up for RIAA-approved subscription services
like Napster or Rhapsody, the cost of which will likely be passed
on to students. Step 2 will help the recording industry outsource
its litigation efforts to campus IT departments. And Step 3?
According to a letter from several university presidents to the
bill's sponsor:

"Even more alarming, it is our understanding that
the consequences of the Secretary deciding that a
targeted institution has failed to prevent illegal
file sharing would be loss of Title IV student aid
eligibility. Such an extraordinarily inappropriate
and punitive outcome would result in all students
on that campus losing their Federal financial aid
� including Pell grants and student loans that are
essential to their ability to attend college,
advance their education and acquire the skills
necessary to compete in the 21st century economy.
Lower income students, those most in need of
Federal financial aid, would be harmed most under
the entertainment industry's proposal."
That's right - if the school fails its copyright physical, all
students could lose their federal student aid. If that sounds
like a bad idea to you, check out the Electronic Frontier
Foundation's action alert on the bill.
Links
EFF Backgrounder on H.R. 4137:
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2007/11/campus-copyright-mandates-threaten-financial-aid-funds-and-campus-networks
EFF Action Alert on H.R. 4137:
https://secure.eff.org/site/Advocacy?alertId=331&pg=makeACall
---------------
As always, lots to discuss at this month's CopyNight!
Cheers,
Ren Bucholz
CopyNight Toronto

CopyNight Toronto Reminder: Next Meeting is Tonight!

This is a reminder that our next meeting is tonight, Tuesday, October 23rd:

Victory Cafe
581 Markham Street
8:00 pm
(One block south of Bloor, one block west of Bathurst and just south of the Markham Street exit at the Bathurst subway station)
Map: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=581+Markham+Street+Toronto+Ontario&num=1&spn=0.02%2C0.04
Ren's Cell: 416/300.5316
As always, for the new folks, I'm the tall guy with glasses and dark, slightly disheveled hair. Hope to see you there!
Ren

CopyNight Toronto Reminder: Next Meeting is Tuesday, October 23rd

This is a reminder that our next meeting is this Tuesday, October 23rd:

Victory Cafe
581 Markham Street
8:00 pm
(One block south of Bloor, one block west of Bathurst and just south of the Markham Street exit at the Bathurst subway station)
Map: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=581+Markham+Street+Toronto+Ontario&num=1&spn=0.02%2C0.04
Ren's Cell: 416/300.5316
As always, for the new folks, I'm the tall guy with glasses and dark, slightly disheveled hair. Hope to see you there!
Ren
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Dear CopyNighters,
Iran is developing nuclear technology, Jean-Claude Van Damme is
starring in his own biopic, and the Rockies made it to the World
Series... come celebrate the End of Days with CopyNight! What
better way to soothe the post-millennial angst than by chatting
about copyright and technology over a frosty beverage? Most
chapters meet this Tuesday, October 23rd, in cities around the
world. Be sure to check the website for details on your local
chapter, and shoot us an email if you'd like to start something in
your city!
http://copynight.org/
=-=-=-=-=-
Newsiness
=-=-=-=-=-
This month's news bytes describe several models for the future of
digital music: continued lawsuits from the recording industry;
Congressional intervention in the realm of blanket licensing;
abandonment of DRM in favour of more retrictive contractual
arrangements with customers; and a hardware-based blanket license.
Are any of these going to be winners? What else should be on the
table?
=-=-=-=-=-
~ RIAA Gets $222k from Woman in First P2P Jury Trial
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has initiated
legal proceedings against over 30,000 Americans over the last five
years, but it secured its first jury conviction only this month.
Jammie Thomas of Minnesota was ordered to pay $9,250 for each of
the 24 songs that she was alleged to have shared, bringing the
total damage award to $222,000. Read more about it here:
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071004-verdict-is-in.html

~ Congressman Calls RIAA Verdict "Excessive," Advocates Blanket Licenses
Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA), well-known advocate for tech-friendly
intellectual property laws, referred to the judgment as
'excessive' and again suggested that Congressional intervention is
necessary. He was particularly supportive of blanket licensing
solutions:
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9792154-7.html

~ New Music Initiatives Drop DRM, Dabble in Collective Licenses
October also saw two new entrants in the world of digital music
distribution. Amazon.com's music store offers over 2 million
tracks that are priced lower than the iTunes Music Store, of a
slightly higher quality, and are encoded in the DRM-free MP3
format. However, the Seattle Times points out that restrictions
don't have to be digital:

"Amazon's contract says you "may copy, store,
transfer and burn the Digital Content" for
personal use. But then it goes further and
specifies restrictions, saying you "agree that you
will not redistribute, transmit, assign, sell,
broadcast, rent, share, lend, modify, adapt, edit,
sub-license or otherwise transfer or use the
Digital Content."

Concerned that I was being paranoid, I floated
this past Fred von Lohmann, senior staff attorney
with the Electronic Frontier Foundation in San
Francisco, a public-interest advocacy group.

He was surprised by the language and said it
appears to enable record companies to pursue a
breach of contract if, for instance, you loaned
your mother an iPod containing MP3s bought from
Amazon."
Read more about the store and its contract here:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003932604_brier08.html
In related news, the Universal Music Group announced plans to work
on a blanket license that would be tied to hardware devices like
cell phones and media players:

"While the details are in flux, insiders say
Morris & Co. have an intriguing business model:
get hardware makers or cell carriers to absorb the
cost of a roughly $5-per-month subscription fee so
consumers get a device with all-you-can-eat music
that's essentially free. Music companies would
collect the subscription fee, while hardware
makers theoretically would move many more
players."
Is that reasonable? Or would we end up paying for the same
music each time we buy a new gadget? Would this be any better
than the subscription services that the labels currently offer (and
which totally suck)?
=-=-=-=-=-
Lots to discuss at this month's CopyNight!
Cheers,
Ren Bucholz
CopyNight Toronto

CopyNight Toronto is Tonight!

Hey CopyNight Toronto,
This is a reminder that our next meeting is tonight(!), September 25th:

Victory Cafe
581 Markham Street
8:00 pm
(One block south of Bloor, one block west of Bathurst and just south of the Markham Street exit at the Bathurst subway station)
Map: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=581+Markham+Street+Toronto+Ontario&num=1&spn=0.02%2C0.04
Ren's Cell: 416/300.5316
Again, for the new folks, I'm the tall guy with glasses and dark, slightly disheveled hair. Hope to see you there!
Ren
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Dear CopyNighters,
The war between the House of Content and the House of Technology
may soon be over. After much negotiation, it appears that an
alliance may have been forged to combine the bloodlines and bring
the two factions together forever. I am, of course, referring to
comedian Kathy Griffin dating Apple co-founder Steve "The Woz"
Wozniak. She even took him to the Emmys! And as a gesture of
goodwill, I suggest that we all raise a glass to their happiness
at the next CopyNight! Most chapters meet this Tuesday, September
25, in cities around the world. Be sure to check the website for
details on your local chapter, and shoot us an email if you'd like
to start something in your city!
http://copynight.org/
=-=-=-=-=-
Newsiness
=-=-=-=-=-
* CCIA: Fair Use Adds $2.2 Trillion to US Economy
That is a big number! From Ars Technica:
"It's common to see reports that stress the economic importance of
copyright and the content owners who benefit from it; the
Copyright Alliance says that "core copyright industries" generated
$819 billion in the US in 2005, for instance. What's less common
is to find studies that look at the economic impact of fair use.
That was the goal behind a new report from the Computer &
Communications Industry Association (CCIA). Their provocative
finding? "In 2006, fair use-related industry value added was $2.2
trillion, 16.6 percent of total US current dollar GDP.""
They came to that number by looking at industries that rely on
certain elements of fair use in order to function, including
"Internet broadcasting, data hosting and processing, audio and
video equipment manufacturing, electronic auctions, radio and
television broadcasting, and many more." Fascinating stuff - read
the rest of it here:
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070913-the-value-of-fair-use-to-the-us-economy-4-5-trillion-a-year.html
So eat, drink and be merry at this month's CopyNight!
Cheers,
Ren Bucholz
CopyNight Toronto

CopyNight Toronto Reminder: Next Meeting is Tonight!

Hey CopyNight Toronto,
This is a reminder that our next meeting is tonight, August 28th:

Victory Cafe
581 Markham Street
8:00 pm
(One block south of Bloor, one block west of Bathurst and just south of the Markham Street exit at the Bathurst subway station)
Map: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=581+Markham+Street+Toronto+Ontario&num=1&spn=0.02%2C0.04
Ren's Cell: 416/300.5316
Again, for the new folks, I'm the tall guy with glasses and dark, slightly disheveled hair. Hope to see you there!
Ren

On August 26, Ren Wrote:
Dear CopyNighters,
Labor Day is almost upon us, and you know what that means. Before
you head off to Burning Man, buy tickets for the Toronto Film
Festival, or pick fall classes, it's time for the last CopyNight
of the summer! Most chapters meet this Tuesday, August 28, in
cities around the world. Be sure to check the website for details
on your local chapter, and shoot us an email if you'd like to
start something in your city!
http://copynight.org/
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
~ WTO May Let Antigua Ignore US Copyrights
When the US banned some forms of online gambling -- i.e.
Caribbean-run operations that provide online poker -- but left
American wagering services like lotteries and horse racing alone,
tiny island nation Antigua cried foul. They took their case to
the World Trade Organization, which twice ruled that the US was
engaging in unfair trade practices. Now, all they have to do is
determine a remedy. But because Antigua is so small, the only
remedy that would make America take notice would be a very rare
move indeed: allow Antiguans to copy movies, films, books, or
anything else protected by US copyright. For free. Uncle Sam is
not pleased.
So what do you think? The US has been pushing copyright into
every trade deal that it cuts for decades, thus putting it on the
negotiating table alongside agricultural goods and
pharmaceuticals. Now that the world's highest trade authority has
convicted the US of rejecting fair trade, where do they go from
here? Fascinating stuff!
Read more here:
http://politics.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/08/23/1553232

So eat, drink and be merry at this month's CopyNight!
Cheers,
Ren Bucholz
CopyNight Toronto