Canada introduces on Internet downloading

TORONTO - The Canadian government introduced new legislation Thursday to make it easier to prosecute people who are caught downloading copyrighted material from the Internet.

Amendments to the Copyright Act of Canada include fining people who are caught downloading copyrighted files C$500 ($489).

The current law — intended to catch commercial cheaters — carries a maximum fine of C$20,000 ($19,544) for infringements.

"Our government has committed to ensuring Canada's copyright law is up to date, and today we are delivering by introducing this 'made-in-Canada' bill that balances the interests of Canadians who use digital technology and those who create content," said Industry Minister Jim Prentice, who presented the new legislation to Parliament on Thursday.

However, the minister has not indicated how violators would be caught.

Amendments to the act would let consumers make one copy of legally acquired music onto each portable audio player and cell phone device they own, as long as any digital locks aren't hacked. The current law does permit consumers to make these copies.

The bill would also allow consumers to record television and radio programs to watch or listen to later, said Prentice.

There would also be limits on the timeframe such recordings could be kept, so consumers couldn't build a library of recordings. Department officials weren't able to say how long recordings would be allowed to be kept for later viewing.

Consumers would be allowed to make one copy of any book, newspaper, magazine, photograph or video cassette for each device they own.

The Conservatives have faced pressure from foreign governments to update the Copyright Act of Canada with new legislation designed to make it easier to track and prosecute anyone who infringes on copyrights by sharing media on the Internet.

Some critics contend that Canada was pressured into drafting similar legislation to the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which has been criticized for favoring commercial interests such as the movie and recording industries instead of consumers.

But the legislation had been in limbo since December, when growing public opposition forced the minister to back away from introducing the bill in the winter.

Prentice was caught between commercial interests that wanted strict protection for intellectual property, such as recordings and films, and Internet users who are accustomed to downloading material free.

The Conservatives are also negotiating with the U.S. government and the European Union to establish a new international copyright agreement, dubbed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).