Just when you thought they Cartels would be taking stock of the statistical demolition of their previous claims regarding Canadian cam-cording and global piracy we see more poorly researched political lackies thrown into the fray.
http://www.slyck.com/story1437.htmlA letter issued by US senators Dianne Feinstein and John Cornyn to Prime Minister Stephen Harper has drawn more attention on the issues of copyright in Canada.
The letter cites new laws that prevent camcording in US theatres, but interestingly enough, it doesn't cite any particular law, and only says that preventing camcording "protects artists."
The letter goes on to say, "Unfortunately, since the United States has enacted tougher laws and penalties against piracy, including camcording piracy, it seems that much of this illicit business has simply moved north. According to a report issued by the U.S. Congressional International Anti-Piracy Caucus, piracy in Canada has grown since the U.S. enacted its law in 2005. In fact, Canadian-sourced camcordings rose by 24 percent in 2006 from 2005."
The opinion expressed appears to have close resemblance to a controversial article published in the Globe and Mail that many people consider 'movie industry PR'. The study by Fox stated that 50% of all camcording is from Canada. The article continued, "We are told that Canadian camcordings tend to be much higher quality; and therefore, they are in greater demand and responsible for a significantly higher percentage of pirated works around the world. Films illegally recorded in Canada have been found in no fewer than 45 countries. Twentieth Century Fox has reported that, at one point during 2006, Canadian theatres were the source for nearly 50 percent of illegal camcorded recordings across the globe. However, it is still not a criminal offense in Canada to make an unauthorized recording of a film in a movie theatre. That means there is no law against what is essentially the theft of property."
Whilst is fun to see paid for politicians asking the premier of another country to enact laws that it seems are already in place, the real agenda is clearly seen here of trying to force a non democratic and one-sided copyright debate, after all if you or I wrote to the Canadian PM regarding the US RIAA/MPAA extortion of its poor, sick and young students would we be likely to gain such publicity ?
