It's not called Pirate Bay for nothing

[p2p rules]

Michael Geist fabricates more myths than he dispels, and misinforms Star readers about the legality of unauthorized downloading.

Downloading pirated music is not legal in Canada. The copyright law conclusions in the case he cites were overturned on appeal. In fact, the Federal Court of Appeal has subsequently twice ruled that the private copying regime doesn't apply to downloads made to hard drives.

Widespread misunderstanding of this legal fact illustrates precisely why digital copyright reform, and the legal clarity it would provide, is needed in Canada.

Geist also strains credulity when arguing that the file sharing on unauthorized sites might be "legal or illegal," as though there were any doubt about this. Courts around the world have found that upwards of 95 per cent of all such file sharing involves pirated material and therefore have consistently ruled against unauthorized file-sharing services. They don't call it Pirate Bay for nothing.

As for the BayTSP report Geist cites, it measured not file-sharing but identified copyright "infringements" of content belonging to that particular company's clients. It is impossible to draw any meaningful, broader conclusion from such a narrow and incomplete data set.

If Geist is so concerned about myths, perhaps he should check his own facts first.

Richard Pfohl, General Counsel, Canadian Recording Industry Association

The Star

[DaBees-Knees]

For all the war of words that is taking place the recording industry still hasn't got the message. The public will pay for what they see as perceived value as is shown by the attendance at live concerts. What they object to is being ripped off by the recording industry. Hence the growth of file sharing.