This was originally going to be an e-mail - but it got long so I decided to share it with the entire world.
I won't include the original stuff that this was in response to but it was mainly about broadcasting over the internet - and some misconceptions that I wanted to address (to the best of my knowledge).
1) A few years ago, a couple of enterprising young persons attempted to stream broadcast television over the internet. The US networks didn't like this much. "But we're only serving it to canadian citizens" they protested since there is no law prohibiting the redistribution of unaltered content that you pull freely from the air (remember the bunny ears that you used to wiggle when you were a child to get a show to come in clearer - or have I just dated myself). "Making people insert a Canadian postal code is not enough to limit viewers - besides - its our content and you don't have the right to re-distribute it" they shot back - and eventually shut them down by the weight of the legal costs associated with defending themselves.
2) Music copyright in canada (a favorite topic of mine). The law says that anyone can make a copy of any musical work for their own personal use. The law actually makes the special case for music vs. [say] television, a play or any other creative IP. The law does not allow you to make a copy for someone else. (e.g. I buy a CD and burn you a copy. BAD. But, if you come over to my house and you click 'burn cd' - that makes it OK).
3) P2P sharing in Canada: Because its okay to make a copy of a song for yourself - there is nothing wrong with downloading music (p2p or otherwise) - this has been long established in court. In a recent ruling regarding the sharing portion of the transaction the judge said: Anyone can share their library of music - simply having an open port on your computer doesn't mean you are breaking any laws. There is no evidence of distribution - you aren't pushing the files down anyone's throat. Nor are you actively telling people "hey come get my latest Avril Levine album - I sure as heck don't need it" (
3.1) Minority government = This law change not even on the radar screen - free sharing for all (Canadians) until the next election.
4) The guy that's doing the same sort of thing as derek suggests with Myth TV and even VoIP gets around the whole broadcast issue by legally paying for the right to sell the broadcasts to others. Its actually surprisingly cheap (I looked into it out of curiosity) - like a few bucks per subscriber.
5) Rogers and other Cable companies are offering free programming on-demand now. But they are doing it with their existing infrastructure. My favorite cable feature right now is Movie Network On-Demand. I can watch episodes of Huff or Dead Like Me whenever I like - and being sans PVR at the moment this makes me happy. No its not cable over the web - but it does that the cable companies are doing something to address viewer's changing demands for content (i.e. I want to see it now - not when you normally air it). (And don't get me wrong I would prefer the cheaper option - but this works for me NOW)
6) CBC has a massive archive of programming available over the web. cbc.ca. Not only is it there - but its presented in a very interesting way... browsing the archives is a pleasure - You end up watching things you never knew you would be interested in.
7) BBC will (last i heard) be making their entire multibillion hour catalogue of programming available on-demand via the web. (After they clear some hurdles - none technical mind you)
andre
Posted by andre at January 13, 2005 03:22 AM