CLUE is participating with a wide coalition of experts and community groups who are deeply concerned about the legal entrenchment of “digital rights management” (DRM) technology in Canadian copyright law. Today this coalition, led by the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic at the University of Ottawa, today launched the website intellectualprivacy.ca and released a background paper on the issue.

In an open letter to Minister of Canadian Heritage Bev Oda and Industry Minister Maxime Bernier accompanying the background paper, we offer to work with policy makers and politicians on this issue, and seek assurances that:

1. any proposed copyright reforms will prioritize privacy protection by including a full privacy consultation and a full privacy impact assessment with the introduction of any copyright reform bill


2. any proposed anti-circumvention provisions will create no negative privacy impact


3. any proposed copyright reforms will include pro-active privacy protections that, for example, enshrine the rights of Canadians to access and enjoy copyright works anonymously and in private

CLUE will remain an ongoing part of this effort, and work with the coalition to ensure that Canadian copyright laws protect both creators and consumers, and will not impede the ability of developers to create free and open source software.

Comments are invited.