DMCA Reaction Part 2: American Federation of Musicians in Favour of Copyright Bill

BY Shane SinnottPublished Jun 13, 2008

The American Federation of Musicians, those little devils, are coming down in favour of the new Canadian Copyright Reform bill, hot on the heels of the Canadian Music Creators Coalition, who are against.

After what they say is "a cursory view of the major provisions,” they believe the legislation, "while far from perfect, is a step forward.” In a press release, they go on to make a lame pretence at being against suing before reveling their true colours: "Many of our higher-profile members have expressed concerns about legislation that would entail suing their fans for illegal file sharing. While no one wants to see this happen, there still have to be rules and boundaries clearly established, and with that, consequences."

Right.

Pathetically, it then takes them all of two sentences before they pull out the old saw where you pretend intellectual property is real property, and assume your audience is stupid enough to by the metaphor: "[We are] also positive [sic] regarding the penalties for circumventing digital locks and TPMs. Whether its songs or software, or the front door of your house, folks have to understand that its somebodys [sic] property and that makes it theft.”

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