-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- - ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Mon, 20 Jun 2005 22:53:15 -0400 From: "David Fewer [c]" <dfewer@xxxxxxxxxx> To: David Fewer <dfewer@xxxxxxxxxx> Subject: Media Release - Digital Security Coalition [u] FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Digital Security Coalition Concerned over Copyright Bill IT security research and technology decries new liability for circumvention of technological protection measures Ottawa, ON - June 20, 2005 - The Digital Security Coalition (www.digitalsecurity.ca), a coalition of Canada's leading security research businesses, today expressed concern with Bill C-60, the government's draft copyright legislation. The legislation proposes to introduce a series of new rights to benefit copyright holders, including prohibitions on the circumvention of technological protection measures (TPMs) and on tampering with rights management information (RMI). Rights holders use TPMs and RMI like digital locks to regulate access to and use of digital content. "Security firms address security weaknesses by circumventing technological protection measures," states Brian O'Higgins, Chief Technology Officer of Third Brigade, Inc., and spokesperson for the coalition. "That is our business, and this bill needlessly complicates that business by introducing a new layer of risk and liability." "Burdening the Canadian technology industry with new laws is always dangerous," states Bob Young, the Canadian co-founder and director of Red Hat Inc., and founder and CEO of Lulu Enterprises, Inc. "In this case, the government has simply not demonstrated a need for this dangerous legislation. There is no evidence that these new rights will benefit Canadians, Canadian companies, or the Canadian economy. In fact, the US experience with anti-circumvention laws suggests the opposite: anti-circumvention laws are bad for security researchers, bad for consumers and bad for competition." Mr. O'Higgins agrees. "These proposals are too broad, too vague, and too dangerous for security researchers. The best that can be said for this Bill is that it is not substantially worse than what the government first proposed back in March." "It's like making screw-drivers illegal because they can be used to break and enter," explains Mr. Young. "Good legislation targets the illegal act, not the legal tools an infringer might use. These proposals risk undermining Canada's commitment to fostering an economy built on innovation and opportunity." Background The government's copyright bill proposes to amend Canada's copyright laws to implement obligations arising from a pair of 1996 treaties crafted under the auspices of the World Intellectual Property Organization, or WIPO: the 1996 Copyright Treaty and the 1996 Performers and Phonographs Treaty, collectively known as the WIPO Internet Treaties. The treaties require member states to provide for legal protection against the circumvention of TPMs. "A number of nations have already enacted legislation to implement their anti-circumvention obligations under the WIPO Internet treaties," says David Fewer, legal counsel for CIPPIC, the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic of the University of Ottawa's Faculty of Law. "The results have been very troubling from a technology perspective." The American experience under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (the DMCA), the U.S. implementation of the WIPO Internet treaties, demonstrates that anti-circumvention rights are often used for reasons other than copyright protection, such as to reduce competition or segment markets. More troubling from a public policy perspective, however, are circumvention claims seeking to silence critical security research. Such attempts are at base motivated by a desire to maintain control over security research in respect of particular platforms or applications. "We should be learning from the American experience, not copying it," suggests Professor Fewer. "The DMCA has had a demonstrably negative impact on security research in the United States. That is an undisputed fact. No one will benefit from the `liability chill' these laws will create." The coalition intends to play an active role before the Parliamentary committee ultimately struck to review the bill. The coalition's website is at www.digitalsecurity.ca. Digital Security Coalition members include: Third Brigade, Ltd. Bob Young, co-founder and director of Red Hat, Inc., founder of Lulu, Inc., and owner of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats Football Team Cinnabar Networks Inc. AEPOS Technologies Corporation Borderware Technologies Inc. Certicom Corp. Credentica Elytra Enterprises Inc Innusec, Inc. Klocwork Inc., Q1 Labs, Inc. Random Knowledge Inc. Synomos Inc. VE Networks, Inc. - - 30 - For more information, contact: Brian O'Higgins Spokesperson for the Digital Security Coalition Chief Technology Officer Third Brigade, Inc. Suite 500, 495 March Rd Ottawa, Ontario, K2K 3G1 Phone: 1-866-684-7332 Ottawa Local: 613-599-4505 Mobile: 613-291-3812 Fax: 613-599-8191 Bob Young Founder, CEO, Lulu, Inc., www.lulu.com Co-founder, Director, Red Hat, Inc., www.redhat.com Co-founder, Chairman, Center for the Public Domain, www.centerpd.org Owner, Hamilton Tiger-Cats Football Club, www.ticats.ca E-mail: bob@xxxxxxxx Lulu, Inc. Suite 210 3131 RDU Centre Dr Morrisville, NC, 27560 Tel: 919-459-5858 ext 227, or Annie ext 230 Fax: 919-459-5867 Cell: 919-604-3777 For more information on the legal background, contact: David A. Fewer Legal Counsel CIPPIC (Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic) Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa 57 Louis Pasteur Street Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 6N5 Phone: 613-562-5800 ext. 2558 Mobile: 613-252-0655 Fax: 613-562-5417 For more information on the Digital Security Coalition, see www.digitalsecurity.ca. For Bill C-60 and the government's accompanying backgrounder, FAQ, and Ministers' letter, see: http://www.canadianheritage.gc.ca/progs/ac-ca/progs/pda-cpb/reform/index_e.c fm For a Canadian overview of the policy implications of proposals to extend to Canadian rights holders rights to TPMs, see: http://www.pch.gc.ca/progs/ac-ca/progs/pda-cpb/pubs/protection/protection_e.pdf and http://www.pch.gc.ca/progs/ac-ca/progs/pda-cpb/pubs/protectionII/protection_e.pdf For more information on the American experience under the DMCA, please visit: http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/unintended_consequences.php -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.2.2 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Finger me for keys iQCVAwUBQrh1iIqHRg3pndX9AQH0eAQAhkSe3M7VaYpZgBKppJncdElyH09+73KJ Qws/6M76g96raniam3aWmIz/QKvuFZ8maKHL5DMxutK+NaFPdd31jlAbqjeWpphG nWupOPefybiSRstXJYsnu3IcRuu2IcsWrXG4bnHz53V1UJlizkybbjOlxYPxHjVp rRRFDqWQ9Z4= =mhc0 -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- _______________________________________________ Ietf@xxxxxxxx https://www1.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/ietf