Music Downloads Legal in Canada -- Maybe
OTTAWA (UPI) -- Canadian copyright regulators have ruled downloading copyright music is legal, but uploading music is not. The ruling by the Copyright Board of Canada applies only to peer-to-peer networks, CNET News.com said Monday. In the same decision, the board imposed a government fee of as much as $25 on iPod-like MP3 players, putting the devices in the same category as audio tapes and blank CDs. The money collected from levies on "recording mediums" goes into a fund to pay musicians and songwriters for revenues lost from consumers' personal copying.
Manufacturers are responsible for paying the fees and often pass the cost on to consumers. Copyright holders such as the Recording Industry Association of America have been critical of Canada's copyright laws, in large part because the country has not instituted provisions similar to the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act. "Our position is that under Canadian law, downloading is also prohibited," said Richard Pfohl, general counsel for the Canadian Recording Industry Association. "This is the opinion of the Copyright Board, but Canadian courts will decide this issue."
OTTAWA (UPI) -- Canadian copyright regulators have ruled downloading copyright music is legal, but uploading music is not. The ruling by the Copyright Board of Canada applies only to peer-to-peer networks, CNET News.com said Monday. In the same decision, the board imposed a government fee of as much as $25 on iPod-like MP3 players, putting the devices in the same category as audio tapes and blank CDs. The money collected from levies on "recording mediums" goes into a fund to pay musicians and songwriters for revenues lost from consumers' personal copying.
Manufacturers are responsible for paying the fees and often pass the cost on to consumers. Copyright holders such as the Recording Industry Association of America have been critical of Canada's copyright laws, in large part because the country has not instituted provisions similar to the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act. "Our position is that under Canadian law, downloading is also prohibited," said Richard Pfohl, general counsel for the Canadian Recording Industry Association. "This is the opinion of the Copyright Board, but Canadian courts will decide this issue."
Charles Mims
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