Published: Globe & Mail, May 31, 2005

Having lost on the copyright issues it raised in the Federal Court of Appeal, the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC) now appears to be intent on rearguing them in the letters section of The Globe and Mail (Downloaded Music -- May 27).

Canadians should know that CIPPIC's interpretation of the law in Canada is incorrect, and could create significant liability for copyright infringement. Contrary to the statement by CIPPIC counsel Howard Knopf, the Federal Court of Appeal has made it clear that hard drives do not constitute an "audio recording medium" and copies made to them are not subject to the private copying exception.

Furthermore, uploading such copies to millions of strangers on file-sharing services is not a "private" act, and once again not subject to the private copying exception.

Finally, the private copying levy does not and has never applied to copies made to personal computers. Mr. Knopf's gratuitous attack on the Canadian Recording Industry Association (including making fun of CRIA's name) indicates that CIPPIC is more interested in settling scores than protecting the public interest.