EUROPEANS! You have until MONDAY to contact your MEP and save the EU from a three-strikes copyright rule!

May 28, 2008
Posted by Stuart Trew

Canada is under significant pressure from the U.S. government and the North American Competitiveness Council (NACC), among other business groups, to reform its copyright legislation. International documents leaked to the press last week indicate that the Harper government is preparing to sidestep Parliament by signing a NAFTA-like international treaty that would radically change what types of currently legal activity will be cracked down on and by whom.

“The Canadian government is secretly negotiating an agreement to revamp international copyright laws which could make information on iPods, laptops and other personal electronic devices illegal and greatly increase the difficulty of travelling with such devices,” reported the Ottawa Citizen on May 24, based on leaked documents reported to have emerged from the Office of the United States Trade Representative.

According to the article, if Canada were to sign the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), it would be joining the United States, Mexico, Japan, South Korea and members of the European Union in a NAFTA-type international agreement on copyright infringement that would:

1. “Create an international regulator that would  

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