Moore’s copyright ‘extremist’ comments seen as deliberate, out of frustration

University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist says he believes Heritage Minister James Moore’s comments about copyright “extremists” weren’t made by accident. “I don’t think this was someone who was speaking out of turn. It seems to me that someone as smart and as experienced as James Moore clearly planned to say precisely what he was saying,” Geist, a copyright user advocate and Canada research chair in Internet and e-commerce law, said in an interview this week on TVO’s Search Engine. “He’s been in politics for a very long time now, even though he’s still quite young, the kind of comments that he made don’t happen by accident.” Geist referred to Moore’s speech last week at an international business conference in Toronto at the invitation of the Canadian Intellectual Property Council. In a comment period following the speech, Moore warned that there are “radical extremists” on both sides of the copyright debate who seek to stall the government’s copyright reform Bill C-32 and stop it from passing. In what some observers viewed as a veiled attack on Geist, Moore said there are critics of the bill who “pretend to be experts,” are cited in the media “all the time,” and who are “babyish in their approach to copyright legislation.” These critics, he said, “don’t believe in copyright at all” and say that “any idea of copyright reform will be an attack on individual citizens.” “When they speak, they need to be confronted, if it’s on Facebook, if it’s on Twitter, if it’s on a talk show, if it’s in a newspaper, confront them and tell them that they are wrong,” Moore said of the bill’s critics, adding they should be “confronted” and “defeated.” “They will find any excuse to oppose this bill, to drum up fear, to mislead, to misdirect and push people in the wrong direction, and to undermine what has been a meaningful, year-long, comprehensive effort to get something right,” Moore said. The comments sharpened the copyright debate—stirring a flurry of social media activity critical of Moore—as grassroots lobbying is gaining steam on Bill C-32. Moore also responded on Twitter, engaging in something of a debate with Cory Doctorow, an author and copyright user-rights advocate. Industry insiders told The Wire Report they believe Moore was speaking out of frustration with the effectiveness of the copyright user lobby and that the comments were intended to discredit Geist and his supporters. The government is planning to create a special legislative committee to study the bill in the fall. The opposition parties are expected to propose amendments. Geist told Search Engine he is not the only one who speaks out on copyright, but noted that he “fits the profile of someone who is quoted regularly” in the media. Moore’s comments raised the curtains on what has been a building political drama between Moore and Geist. Geist has criticized Moore in the past, once referring to him as the “iPadlock Minister” for his approach to the legal protection for digital locks. Last week, Geist rallied his thousands of followers on Twitter and wrote a blog posting titled, “Was There An Attempt to Bury Moore's 'Radical Extremist' Comment?” The blog post came following a statement Moore made on Twitter. “Not what I said,” he wrote in response to questions about the “radical extremists” comment. A video later confirmed he had said the phrase, however. Geist said he “absolutely” wants to see Bill C-32 amended and passed, but said he is calling for an amendment to the legislation’s digital locks provision because, as it is currently written, it trumps copyright user exceptions. “I’m not taking the position that there should be no DRM or TPM , or even that there should be no legal protection for it. It’s merely the case that it shouldn’t trump all other rights,” Geist said. “I think what he said was wrong, and frankly he should apologize and retract it,” Geist said, adding: “I think it hurts him and I think it hurts the prospect of getting this bill right.” Moore’s office did not provide a comment Tuesday on Geist’s statements. Jessy Brown, Search Engine’s host, said on the program that he found the entire episode “silly and juvenile.” He added that there appears to be a “good cop, bad cop” dynamic between Moore and Industry Minister Tony Clement, who seems to be taking a more conciliatory approach to the legislation. Amid the controversy over Moore’s comments last week, Clement tweeted on June 24: “Hi! I love the constructive feedback on . Keep it coming. This Bill will be a collaborative effort!” Michael Hennessy, senior vice president of regulatory affairs at Telus Corp., added to the discussion last week, also noting on Twitter: “This James Moore noise is tedious. Let's do something ‘radically extreme’ and go back to debating TPMs and quit acting like a bunch of MPs.” sdoyle@thewirereport.ca

Moore’s copyright ‘extremist’ comments seen as deliberate, out of frustration

News | 06/29/2010 9:05 pm EDT

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