Fugitive
05-28-2008, 07:18 AM
AKA the Border Guards Are Copyright Experts Act. (http://www.canada.com/topics/technology/science/story.html?id=ae997868-220b-4dae-bf4f-47f6fc96ce5e&p=1) (Short version: security personnel could be given the power to act on perceived copyright violations even without a complaint.)
The article is a bit alarmist, since all we're given is from a 'leak', it's nowhere near becoming actual law (it's a draft for G8 discussion), and there are a lot of "well, they *could*..."s in there.
I'm just amused by the notion that they think this is actually enforcible in any meaningful way. Can anybody prove on the spot that any one of the various MP3s, movies, or images on their laptop has been paid for, even when they really have been? Or would they try to confiscate laptops and iPods left and right? If it did come to pass, it would either be one of those laws that's entirely toothless because it's impossible to enforce, or the public outrage at their ham-fisted attempts to do so would be deafening.
Edit: Actually, given the wording of the title, it makes me wonder if the actual intent was to aim it at things like knockoff fashion goods. I'm not sure I'd trust border guards to be expert appraisers either.
The article is a bit alarmist, since all we're given is from a 'leak', it's nowhere near becoming actual law (it's a draft for G8 discussion), and there are a lot of "well, they *could*..."s in there.
I'm just amused by the notion that they think this is actually enforcible in any meaningful way. Can anybody prove on the spot that any one of the various MP3s, movies, or images on their laptop has been paid for, even when they really have been? Or would they try to confiscate laptops and iPods left and right? If it did come to pass, it would either be one of those laws that's entirely toothless because it's impossible to enforce, or the public outrage at their ham-fisted attempts to do so would be deafening.
Edit: Actually, given the wording of the title, it makes me wonder if the actual intent was to aim it at things like knockoff fashion goods. I'm not sure I'd trust border guards to be expert appraisers either.