Probably the Most Succinct Statement on the Copyright Bill

From the Globe and Mail column by Ivor Tossell.

Older users might be cautious, and people working in risk-averse institutions like universities or corporations will feel a chill from above, especially as the software tools that can be used to rip DVDs will become harder to come by.

But the younger generation will continue to follow its own mores regarding copyright, and in so doing it will embroil the country in a never-ending game of whack-a-mole.

This, incidentally, is where one of the government's other consumer-friendly ideas starts looking like a wooden horse full of lawyers.

I feel Tossell is missing the point about the "$500 fine" on personal use "violations".

If you have to circumvent a digital lock to copy your media (such as on iTunes, whose lock is pathetically easy to get around precisely because all it's used for is to show you intended to violate copyright), then you automatically qualify for the $20,000 penalty.