For the London Free Press – November 26, 2007

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In a move that will comfort many online users, the RCMP have announced they will not target people who download copyrighted material for their personal use.

This follows release of an Industry Canada study showing peer-to-peer music downloading may boost CD buying. This contradicts the standard position held by record labels for the better part of a decade that online music sharing has had a devastating impact on the industry.

The RCMP will focus on organized crime and copyright theft affecting consumer health and safety. One motivation behind the RCMP decision was the difficulty in stopping personal copyright infractions due to the ease of copying and the prevalence of the activity.

The study found that in Canada, for every 12 songs downloaded using peer-to-peer sharing, CD purchases increased by 0.44 CDs.

If you’ve heard warnings from the Canadian Recording Industry Association alleging the dire situation of the industry, the survey results will surprise you. It seems that, far from suffering in recent years, the industry has been thriving with profits up from 0.1 per cent in 2003 to seven per cent at present. Moreover, music sales by Canadian artists have grown and there has been an rise in the number of releases by Canadian artists.

A Canadian copyright reform bill is expected soon.

The RCMP position and the study results are examples of why copyright reform needs to be looked at from a practical perspective that balances creator and user rights and needs.

This is consistent with the balanced approach to copyright the Supreme Court of Canada promoted in its CCH vs Law Society decision.

One must only look to the U.S. to see the effect of one-sided copyright law. In 2003, the Recording Industry Association of America began suing music downloaders and within three years, filed about 20,000 suits.

In most cases, defendants settle with the RIAA. In October, a jury convicted a Minnesota woman of copyright infringement and awarded $220,000 in damages, $9,250 for each of 24 songs.

Downloading continues despite this effort.

Many in the entertainment business have broken away from the traditional industry organizations, and believe more liberal user rights are good for them.

Despite all this, the expectation is that the copyright reform bill will track the requests of those in the entertainment industry calling for stricter measures — which is the exact opposite of what we need.

Let’s hope that these recent developments, and the continued support of creators for more balanced rights, will give legislators pause to reflect on their approach.