Music sharing in Canada: legal (breaking news)
 

http://www.cbc.ca/stories/print/2004...ad_court040331

In Canada, the recording industry lobbied for levies (taxes) to be placed on media intended for recording music, based off the assumption that it would be used to copy their songs. Everytime you buy a recordable CD in Canada, money goes to copywrite owners.

In a fit of sanity, the law stated that given that consumers where paying for the copying of songs, the copying of songs for personal private use was legal.

However, the copying of songs for other people was illegal.

It was thus obvious that downloading music in Canada was legal: it was copying songs for your own use.

If you place media in a shared directory for other people to copy, when it is copied was it you making the copy, or was it them making the copy?

Now, it appears that uploading is as well. The Judge has ruled that it is the downloader who is doing the copying.

One more reason to move to Canada! :D

CANADA - Dowloading Declared Legal
 

Due to yesterday's court ruling Canadians are legally allowed to download music for free using P2P file services. What do you think about this! Please state your opinion...

Hey, maybe Canada isn't so bad after all. Send some of that this way!

i've been wanting to leave this country for some time now (i'm not anti-american, i just want to get out and live somewhere else for a few years, michigan gets dull after awhile... okay, after a SHORT while... really short... but i digress :)). now canada's looking nicer and nicer.

I hope it happens in the U.S soon. And then someone would slap that shit across those money craving whores who called themselves/who are called "artists."

wow cheap and drugs and now free music....gosh darn that country is looking good these days.

mr b

woot..it's good to be Canadian!

my favorite part of this whole thing
is that artists covered by the riaa arent the ones that need the money
its just the rich artists that are complaining
poorer, unknown bands needs as much publicity as they can get
the internet is amazing for this

Personally, the legality of sharing / downloading copyrighted music has never really entered my mind when I do it. When I do it, I don't think "oh crap, this is illegal, I hope I don't get caught!" More often than not, I think, "should I be doing this on the moral level?"

Is file sharing moral? That's a question up for debate, and has a much different answer than whether or not it is legal. I think that it's up to the person to decide it for themselves, and I have always been against forcing an almost purly moral decision onto others.

Some might say that there are many moral issues that the law enforces. However, I don't think that copying music is immoral enough in enough people's view that it warrants a law.

Others believe that illegal things are always immoral. Personally, I believe that's just a load of bull crap ;)

I guess something about having weather that makes and honest run at killing you 90 days a year makes a country saner.

I was going to belt out the Canadian Anthem in italics, but, jeeze, how corny can you get. Way to go, eh.

I like to call it "having weather 90 days a year." =)

The difference between Canada and the States here is pretty simple: on media that tends to be used for recording music, Canada has a levy that is intended to recompensate the makers of music.

The same law that arranges for the levy also makes it legal for Canadians to make personal copies of music.

You cannot copy music for someone else, but you can lend your music to someone and they can copy it.

Just as placing a photocopier in a room of books doesn't mean you are copying the books for the people in the room, opening a file share onto the internet doesn't mean you are copying it for them.

Downloading is thus almost certainly legal in Canada. And, as the person who is sharing the files isn't actively uploading (she is just making it easy to download), it appears she isn't breaking the law either.

There are similar laws surrounding photocopying in Canada, called "CanCopy". For example, every student in Canada pays 5$ into the CanCopy fund, and statistics canada figures out whose books tend to be photocopied and pays the publisher for the photocopies.

<3 for Canada

I love being canadian!
 

Kazaa and all P2P programs are now completely legal! Id post the link but its in french so...

I dont have anything to fear from downloading MP3s anymore! The risk was always minimal I know. It was more psychological than anything else. Still good news though!

Good for you, I live in Aus but I'm not sure if its legal for me.

Whats funny is last year was the best year for a long time in regards to profits made by music companies, but it was kept quiet because the figures make them look like a big bunch of slimy, lying fucks. Which they are, because of the whole price fixing of CD's thing.

[/rant]

Well that kicks ass!
A slap in the face to RIAA is always a good thing! Even if it doesn't directly effect me (not living in Canada and all).

:)

And don't forget near-legal weed ;)

Have I mentioned lately how much I love Canada? Cause I really do. I know the Canadian national anthem, I know all of the provinces/territories, I love maple syrup, and the only beer I drink is Labbats. Can I be Canadian now please? :D

Well, let's see. If you buy a CD-R, you pay for music, even if you use the CD-R to store family photos. In essence, unless you DO put music on the CD-R, the RIAA is stealing your money. If I'm paying a surcharge to the RIAA so I can get music, I'm not gonna get into a moral hangup when I actually GET the music.

Take off.. You HOSER

what about canadian... why wouldnt you drink that

Never have I been more proud to be a Canadian.

Truly is a sweet day to be Canadian :)

What the hell is Labbate. Canadians drink Molson.

Parts 4 and 5 of the citizenship test are beer bonging and maple syrup chugging. You should be fine.

Hmmm. That's interesting. I read that in the Toronto Star on April 1st and was sure that was an April fool's joke.

Cool!

nice things about Canada for your consideration,

Outcall Escorts are legal, non-harming conducts by two consenting adults in a closed dwelling is aokay

maryJ is not legal, though the use of it is not policed....

no gun control laws (Emril says Bam, or Bang)

80 murders in Toronto last year, 6 of them victims are not black (no need to crucify me, only the facts here)

strong satellite tv signal across the country as long as your dish is facing south(wink wink)

It Just amazes me how quickly people can change the topic... LOL

Hahaha... Averett you are awesome. And as far as I am concerned you are welcome in Canada any day! It is definitly the shiznit.

I do enjoy some Molsen Canadian as well :-p

YAY CANADA!

Hahaha, i can envision George Bush declaring Canada as a country belonging in the Evil Axis.

It's crazy, music sharing is legal, pot is sorta legal, drugs are cheaper, free health care, decent welfare. They take asylum seekers way too easy too.

Oh yeah, let's all just get all music for FREE. I bet the musicians would all just love to have second jobs to pay for their food.

Read the latest studies. Music swapping has not impacted CD sales.

In Canada, there is a mechanism for paying for downloaded songs. A Levy is paid on media intended to store copies of music.

Second, most musicians do have second jobs to pay for their food under the current system. Only a handful don't. Most of the money earned by the music industry is spent on marketing, not on making music.