DVD pirates find safe harbour in Canada

[HatchetMan]

Canada is among the world's piracy hot spots, along with places such as Pakistan and Malaysia, said John Malcolm, the MPAA's senior vice-president and director of worldwide anti-piracy operations in Encino, Calif.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20050426/RPIRACY26/TPBu...iness/Canadian

[canadateck]

Canada is among the world's piracy hot spots, along with places such as Pakistan and Malaysia, said John Malcolm, the MPAA's senior vice-president and director of worldwide anti-piracy operations in Encino, Calif. "I think that the piracy problem in Canada has a lot more to do with lax laws . . . coupled with high demand by and relative affluence of Canadian citizens, than proximity to the U.S."

They make it sound worst then it really is,They just want a "Strong Hand" here in Canada,Like they do most everywhere else. I'm not for 'pirating", But I'm against losing every right we have,including my privacy when it comes to my ISP/IP and what I chose to do on the internet.


The movie industry is a company nothing more.They shouldnt have any say about my privacy,just like the store down the street doesnt.

[SLK001]

Yo, ho, ho, it's a pirate's life for me!

DISCLAIMERS:
That was a joke.
I am not now, nor have I ever been, a pirate.
Anyway, the sea air burns my eyes, and high seas make me seasick.

[VegasBud]

In the United States, laws such as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) make it easier for authorities to get at the pirates, but in Canada, Internet service providers do not disclose information on their subscribers unless a search warrant is issued.

Gosh, there's a place left on earth where the MPAA hasn't squashed the right to privacy? How can they achieve world domination if they actually have to obtain legal papers?

[adam]

Gosh, there's a place left on earth where the MPAA hasn't squashed the right to privacy? How can they achieve world domination if they actually have to obtain legal papers?

Well that's the whole point of the article and why there is such a safe harbour for infringers. The MPAA cannot get a search warrant until they have some evidence against the infringer, but they cannot get that evidence from the isp unless they have that search warrant. Its this catch-22 that creates the safe harbour.

You can't just go to a judge with a printout of their website and say, look they are infringing. You need to show evidence of their infringing sales. Its very difficult to try to track down the actual packages as they move through the mail system, especially when its the other country's mail carrier. Unless those packages are actually shipped through a US Customs port then there's no way for the MPAA to know they exist. The isp holds all the evidence of sales that you need, but there's no way to get to it.

I'm all for privacy but this is a problem, at least for the MPAA. Anyone can live in any country they want, incorporate in Canada, buy a web domain and assign it to the corporation, and then start selling infringing material on the internet.

Canada is indeed somewhat of a safe haven, but I think its kinda insignificant when you've got countries like China out there.

[deadskullz]

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