Thursday , March 28 2024

Canada: Downloading Paradise

For those of you who think Canada is nothing but a great white wasteland, I beg to differ. They have everything we have except 90% of the people are missing, and you can legally download music from the Internet:

    Downloading copyrighted music from peer-to-peer networks is legal in Canada, although uploading files is not, Canadian copyright regulators said in a ruling released Friday.

    In the same decision, the Copyright Board of Canada imposed a government fee of as much as $25 on iPod-like MP3 players, putting the devices in the same category as audio tapes and blank CDs. The money collected from levies on “recording mediums” goes into a fund to pay musicians and songwriters for revenues lost from consumers’ personal copying. Manufacturers are responsible for paying the fees and often pass the cost on to consumers.

    The peer-to-peer component of the decision was prompted by questions from consumer and entertainment groups about ambiguous elements of Canadian law. Previously, most analysts had said uploading was illegal but that downloading for personal use might be allowed.

    “As far as computer hard drives are concerned, we say that for the time being, it is still legal,” said Claude Majeau, secretary general of the Copyright Board. [CNET]

Right on, Claude. I expect an immigration from the U.S. like none since the Vietnam War, although they will still buy their iPods in the U.S. of A.

About Eric Olsen

Career media professional and serial entrepreneur Eric Olsen flung himself into the paranormal world in 2012, creating the America's Most Haunted brand and co-authoring the award-winning America's Most Haunted book, published by Berkley/Penguin in Sept, 2014. Olsen is co-host of the nationally syndicated broadcast and Internet radio talk show After Hours AM; his entertaining and informative America's Most Haunted website and social media outlets are must-reads: Twitter@amhaunted, Facebook.com/amhaunted, Pinterest America's Most Haunted. Olsen is also guitarist/singer for popular and wildly eclectic Cleveland cover band The Props.

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