Canada Hammers Out DRM Bill

Canadians will now be allowed to copy legally acquired music to their iPods and computers, Reuters reports, but would be banned from getting around any digital rights management (DRM) that companies might apply, under new legislation introduced in Parliament:

“The bill, introduced by Industry Minister Jim Prentice, would continue to exempt Internet service providers from liability for copyright violations by their subscribers, requiring them only to pass on notices of violations rather than to take down offending material as required in the United States.”

Prentice acknowledged the difficulty of balancing content creator rights with the needs of everyday life, saying that “it touches each and every one of us, and it is no surprise to find so many different points of view with respect to copyright.”

The bill will also let consumers record radio and TV programs for playing back at a later time—time-shifting, essentially—but will not let them keep the programs indefinitely as part of a library.

(Image credit: Clipart.com)

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