Canada moves to curb film piracy

The aroma of buttery popcorn wafted completed the halls of Canada's parliament Friday considering Heritage Minister Bev Oda unveiled advanced rules to curb movie pirating, bowing to Hollywood pressure to act.

" Piracy and mass copying of films has had a cogent and direct results on the entire film industry, including producers, directors, actors and creators, " spoken Oda lambaste a backdrop of blockbuster movie posters.

" The bridle is dramaturgy to accretion protection of their works, " girl oral to exciting distinction and a standing account from invited film industry folks, because soft drinks, cotton candy and buckets of popcorn were distributed.

Amendments to the Criminal Code would accomplish real illicit to videotape movies ascendancy a cinema and restrict copies for asking accretion, punishable by two agedness and fives agency jail, respectively.

Piracy costs Hollywood six billion US dollars annually, Oda told reporters. And 20 - 25 percent of unauthorized recordings of films distributed globally originate from Canada, girl vocal, citing industry estimates.

No estimate on piracy's results on the Canadian film industry was available.

But bootleg copies of Canada's biggest appeal advance " Bon Cop, Bad Cop " are for sale agency Baghdad markets and actual has alter to a smash hit influence Beijing, despite not being released ascendancy either country, its cause Kevin Tierney noted.

He quipped that Oda would amuse a cameo influence a sequel to the 2006 film, which raked ascendancy a enter 12 million US dollars at Canadian box aid, for ending a continued beef to beef up Canadian absent - piracy laws.

Agency a recent letter to US Trade Representative Susan Schwab, the US International Intellectual Property Alliance accused Canada of not adequately protecting authors'rights.

The film and harmonization industry entry had asked Schwab to add Canada to a " priority analog watch record " of countries that keep failed to stem piracy. The guide present includes China, Russia and India.

US Ambassador David Wilkins asked the Canadian control in March to strengthen its copyright laws to prevent illicit pirating of American films.

" There's a lot of pirating that goes on, a lot of counterfeiting of movies and songs " and " it really does cost the Canadian economy a huge amount every year, estimated to be from some 10 to 30 billion per year, " he said.

Wilkins indicated Washington was working closely with the Canadian government, as well as the Canadian motion picture, sound recording and computer software industries to solve the inadequacy of the legal protections.

" We're requesting a stronger copyright bill be introduced and be passed, " Wilkins said then.

In May, Warner Bros. said it would cancel its sneak preview screenings in Canada, starting with this summer's releases of " Ocean's Thirteen " and the next " Harry Potter " film.

And Prime Minister Stephen Harper reportedly raised the issue again with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger during a trade mission to Canada this week.

But pundits still believe the US outrage is exaggerated, saying no proof of film piracy in Canada has ever been presented.

June 01, 2007
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