Noose tightens round necks of file-sharers worldwide

THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT said it is setting about re-writing its copyright laws in order to "address the challenges and opportunities of the Internet".

In a joint statement yesterday, the Canadian ministers of industry and women said the government would shortly introduce legislation to implement the provisions of the 1996 World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Treaties, clarify liability for Internet service Providers and facilitate the use of the Internet for educational and research Purposes.

Minister responsible for Status of Women Liza Frulla, issued a call to "strengthen the hand of our creators and cultural industries against the unauthorized use of their works on the Internet."

She said the government wanted to show, "how we intend to build a copyright framework for the 21st century."

The minister responsible for the status of men wasn't able to comment because he doesn't exist.

File-sharers on Canada have been happily downloading whatever they like from P2P networks in the knowledge that they had the protection of the law. Now, they'll risk prosecution like the rest of us.

In a related development, a 27-year old man became the first Swede to be prosecuted for with illegally sharing files over the Internet, according to a Swedish paper, The Local</>. Investigators say they found him sharing a copy of a film called Hipp Hipp Hora from his PC. µ

L'INQ
Canadian ministers' statement
The Local