Updates
in cra-briefings37 · June 15, 2006
OFFICE of the U.S TRADE REPRESENTATIVE ISSUES 2006 SPECIAL s. 301 REPORT
The Office of the United States trade representative has released its special section 301report for 2006. Thirteen countries including China, Russia and Venezuela are on the Priority Watch List and 34 countries including Canada, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Vietnam and Uzbekistan are on the Watch List. The USTR still plans to conduct an out-of-cycle review on Canada, which was delayed in the 2005 calendar year due to a change in government. As Canada remains on the Watch List, the USTR has stated that the key areas for action by Canada include the ratification and implementation of the WIPO treaties, amendment to copyright law to provide protection in the digital environment and improvement of the intellectual property enforcement system. For more details on the Special Section 301 Report please go to www.ustr.org.
CANADIAN MUSIC CREATORS COALITION IS LAUNCHED
In April, Stephen Page, of the Bare Naked Ladies, wrote an op-ed for the National Post announcing the launch of the Canadian Music Creators’ Coalition. The group of music creators has articulated three key principles it states should underscore Copyright reform in Canada:
- Suing fans is destructive and hypocritical.
- The use of digital locks, frequently referred to as TPM’s, are risky and counterproductive.
- Cultural policy should support actual Canadian artists.
For more information on the CMCC check out their site at www.musiccreators.ca, or view the op-ed piece at www.thenationalpost.com.
THE COST OF BOOTLEGGING ON THE MOTION PICTURE INDUSTRY
A study by LEK Consulting has quantified the cost of bootlegging and unauthorized downloading on the Motion Picture Industry to have been $6.1 billion dollars in 2005. $3.8 billion dollars of this amount is attributed to bootlegging while the remaining is attributed to unauthorized downloading. This is the first time a study has quantified the impact of downloading on the motion picture industry. For more information on this study please see: www.siliconvalley.com.
SIX MAJOR INDEPENDENT LABELS SPLIT FROM CRIA
Six major independent music labels in Canada have split from the Canadian Recording Industry Association. The companies stated that CRIA’s position on several major issues were not aligned with the best interests of independent labels and therefore they felt they had no choice but to withdraw their support from the organization. The primary reason cited for their departure was the position CRIA had taken in submissions to the Canadian Radio Television and Telecommunications Commission concerning Canadian content levels. Ric Arboit president of Network Records said that the independent labels want greater support for up-and-comers and that “[CRIA is] looking out for their best interests and their best interests is multinationals that are not Canadian.” Despite their departure the Indie labels agree with other work that is being done by CRIA including its work on copyright reform. For more information on this development see: www.canada.com.