Canadian Series on Digital Rights Management

University of Ottawa professor Michael Geist has started a series called 30 days of DRM.

As Geist explained in his first post:

"Many people are still in summer mode, but the Canadian copyright rumour mill suggests that there is a lot happening behind the scenes with a copyright bill quite possibly a top priority once the fall session begins in 31 days. While there was much to criticize about Bill C-60 (the last attempt at copyright reform), given the continuing pressure from the copyright lobby and the U.S. government, I fear that the Conservatives' bill may be far more extreme in its approach. Despite the negative experiences with the U.S. DMCA as well as the recent calls against anti-circumvention legislation from musicians, artists, security companies, librarians, and the privacy community, within the next couple of months Canada may be facing its own DMCA..."

"... I plan to spend the thirty days before the House of Commons reconvenes to highlight some of the exceptions and limitations that should be included in the event that a Canadian DMCA is introduced. Each day, I will post a new provision, focusing broadly on marketplace concerns, public protection, and fair circumvention. The postings will be collected on a single page to form a compilation of DRM policy issues. Moreover, I'm launching a wiki that will start with the postings and will hopefully grow as interested readers add examples and additional perspectives."

Earlier Library Boy posts on digital rights management include:

• Digital Rights Management Guide (January 18, 2006): this post presents 3 recent resources on the topic of DRM, one from Australia, one from the United States and another one from Canada
• Libraries and Privacy Groups Speak Out on Copyright and DRM Threats to Privacy (May 17, 2006): "The Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic at the University of Ottawa has made public a series of open letters to the Ministers of Canadian Heritage and Industry expressing the concerns of library associations, privacy experts and civil libertarians over 'dangers to privacy posed by the extension of legal protection to 'digital rights management' (DRM) technology'. "