Political Speech Battles Head North
There have been a number of instances so far this year that have brought the fair use of political proceedings into question. From Congressional footage to the presidential debates, minor victories have been afforded to those pushing for openness and transparency, but it seems that the Canadian government is looking to hold onto their copyrights a little bit tighter.
The issue took center stage back in February, when the use of C-SPAN footage on a politician's blog turned into a partisan battle that C-SPAN decided to remove itself from the middle of. They changed their corporate policies to not only expand their offerings online, but to allow for more "non-commercial copying, sharing, and posting...with attribution."
Chilling Effects Clearinghouse Founder and Berkman Fellow Wendy Seltzer immediately applauded the shift in policy.
Just months later, Larry Lessig led the charge for open access to the presidential debates, which has had its successes and roadblocks.
Now, as our friend Michael Geist explains (via Boing Boing), the House of Commons itself sent a takedown notice to YouTube, requesting the removal of a political parody that makes use of CPAC (the Canadian equivalent of C-SPAN) footage. Michael had previously related the Canadian situation to the one taking place with C-SPAN, but now notes that "without a change to the rules, takedown notices involving political speech are likely to become more common in Canada."
The issue took center stage back in February, when the use of C-SPAN footage on a politician's blog turned into a partisan battle that C-SPAN decided to remove itself from the middle of. They changed their corporate policies to not only expand their offerings online, but to allow for more "non-commercial copying, sharing, and posting...with attribution."
Chilling Effects Clearinghouse Founder and Berkman Fellow Wendy Seltzer immediately applauded the shift in policy.
Just months later, Larry Lessig led the charge for open access to the presidential debates, which has had its successes and roadblocks.
Now, as our friend Michael Geist explains (via Boing Boing), the House of Commons itself sent a takedown notice to YouTube, requesting the removal of a political parody that makes use of CPAC (the Canadian equivalent of C-SPAN) footage. Michael had previously related the Canadian situation to the one taking place with C-SPAN, but now notes that "without a change to the rules, takedown notices involving political speech are likely to become more common in Canada."