The Society of Composers, Authors, and Music Publishers of Canada - Essay Example

The Society of Composers, Authors, and Music Publishers of Canada The world, today, is a global village due to the advancing information technology capabilities. Access to computers and the internet is widespread and individuals are able to access information that was initially difficult if not impossible to obtain. The numerous internet sites that offer the opportunities for review of information on items meant for sale is a common phenomenon. Although the services serve, as a marketing mechanism for the product, there exist questions over the right of access to such information, however, limited the time. The famous case between the Society of Composers, Authors, and Music Publishers of Canada and Bell Canada emerged from the dilemma that exists on the extent of the right to access copyrighted information (Hovenkamp 48). With the laws that govern intellectual property being clear on the legality of the limited access to copyrighted songs on the internet, the demand for royalty from the authors causes confusion on the extent of justified free access to such songs. The case between the two entities begs the question of where to draw the line between the freedom for information access and the copyright laws. This research aims to explore the flawlessness of the Canadian copyright laws that stipulate that the free previews comprise fair dealing for the intent of research. Research Objectives The objectives of this research include: Establishing the significance of copyright law in Canada and other areas of the globe with specific focus on textbooks Identify the elements that institute the right of access to information Determine the issues that correspond to the dilemma of copyright law in Canada Using both CCH v. Law Society of Upper Canada and Alberta (Education) v. Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright), explore validity of the Canadian copyright law regarding the use of reviews for the purposes of research Determining the possibility of finding solutions to the dilemma that relate to the issues of copyright and freedom of access to information in Canada. Research Questions What is the significance of the copyright law in Canada and other areas of the globe? Which factors constitute the right of access to information? What kinds of issues correspond to the dilemma of copyright law in Canada? Dies the Canadian copyright law that promotes the use of reviews for the purposes of research possess some validity. Is it possible to establish solutions to the dilemma that relate to the issues of copyright and freedom of access to information in Canada? Research Methodology This investigation hinges upon methods and mechanisms that aim to uncover answers to the research questions. The selected methods of research emanate from the significant research needs. The sources that the research utilizes are also accessible and available for analysis. This study shall take into consideration some legal principles and beliefs as regarding the application of the copyright law and the right of access to information in Canada and the world through. The study will concentrate on the information that exists and the interrelation of different entities on the validity and significance of copyright laws in a society with special interest to Canada and focusing on the Society of Composers, Authors, and Music Publishers of Canada v. Bell Canada scenario. The research will use different methods of investigations namely, documentary sources, interviews and questionnaires. Qualitative research will be used to identify case records that give the paper more credentials. In addition, quantitative research methodology will be used to identify various incidences of copyright infringement cases. The documentary sources to use will include both the published an unpublished material focusing on the legal aspects of information in society and the view of different entities in the freedom and need of access to information. The documentary sourced that the research aims to apply includes previous research materials, published and unpublished books, journals and magazines among other sources (Kothari 123). Legal literature that explores the copyright law and different interpretation of the law will constitute major research instruments in this investigation. The research will consider 400 participants to institute the respondents in the interviews and the questionnaires. These participants will include legal officers, experts on information rights, information users, publishers, artistes, composers, and authors. A hundred participants will participate in the interviews while the others given questionnaires to fill. The respondents required to fill the questionnaires will have the questionnaires delivered to them either personally or through mail. This will depend on the reference of the participants. The remaining 100 respondents will participate in the interviews under the direction of a section of the selected interviewers. The research will charge 25 researchers with the responsibility of conducting the interviews, meaning that each of them will require handling an average of four respondents. The participants in the study will range from the ages between 18 years and 65 years, as the group constitutes the portion of actively professional and users of the internet and information. This will comprise of 200 participants and 200 female participants. The equal use of technology, internet, and information among the genders justifies the use of equal ratio for the respondents. Prior to the actual study, the researchers will conduct a pilot research. This will aim to figure out the possibility of carrying out the actual research (Paltridge and Phakiti 23). The pilot study will be informal with two of them being home interviews and one involving the issuance of a questionnaire for the respondent to fill. Four of the researchers will undertake this pilot study. This mock study will use only fifteen respondents from the intended population of the study. The mock study will occur 15 days before the actual research investigation and await the assessment and response of some of the adult literacy experts who will approve it and give a go ahead for the real investigation. The actual study will comprise the use of a stratified random selection system. Preliminary Findings The Preliminary Findings of the copyright law in Canada and the globe and its relations to the rights to information access are as follows; the copyright laws are indispensable in the society especially in light of the increasing technological advancement that Canada and the world keep witnessing. According to Epstein (100),Copyright rule, like other key sections of public policy, necessitates a solid securing of fundamental doctrines. The apparent need to anchor copyright discussions in a concrete policy background and, hence, to build up a coherent and expectantly persuasive narrative on the phenomenon is paramount. Moreover, the right of access of information is a factor of many elements including, the source of information, the age of the information seekers, the content of the information and the authors intention with the information just to mention but a few. There exists some dilemma with reference to the Canadian copyright laws, this associate with among other things, associate with the aspect of royalty and the need to market the products while promoting freedom of information access in the nation. Craig (509), the copyright law is a form of contradiction, which, at a more realistic level, transforms into a digital impasse for IP vendors and conventional content providers (Hovenkamp 46). These elements manifest in their habitually hesitant or undecided forays into the online setting. Whereas they may certainly stand to advantage from invention that is more proficient and sharing of information products, right holders and actors in the industry have more concern in the possibility of the benefits undercutting owing. This could be because of the increased danger of imitation and unlawful distribution that new technologies entail. As for the validity of the of the Canadian copyright law which as regarding the use of reviews for the purposes of research Craig (510), suggests that, the law is valid irrespective of the opposition it attracts. The author denotes that the conflict between copyright policy and associations like Society of Composers, Authors, and Music Publishers exposes itself in the dilemma of fair dealing and other copyright omissions. The fair dealing protection authorizes reasonable transactions with copyright protected works for the rationale of research, criticism, private study, and reviews among other things. The possibility of finding solutions to the dilemma that relate to the issues of copyright and freedom of access to information in Canada is a more complex issue. With questions over the ability of the much-needed technology surviving the regulation of the government, the dilemma that exists over the copyright laws becomes even more evident (Epstein 87-104). The cooperation of the diverse sectors of the society in enhancing the use of technology, the capacity to access information, and the growth of the authors of such content will go a long way in handling such issues Works Cited Alberta (Education) v. Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright), 2012 SCC 37, [2012] 2 SCR 345. Web. March 25, 2014. CCH Canadian Ltd. v. Law Society of Upper Canada. Judgements of the Supreme Court of Canada, March 04, 2003. Web. March 25, 2014 < http://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/2125/index.do> Craig, Carys J. Digital Locks and the Fate of Fair Dealing in Canada: In Pursuit of ‘‘Prescriptive Parallelism’’ The Journal of World Intellectual Property 13.4(2010):. 503–539 Depoorter, Ben. "Technology And Uncertainty: The Shaping Effect On Copyright Law." University Of Pennsylvania Law Review 157.6 (2009): 1831-1868. EPSTEIN, RICHARD A. "Can Technological Innovation Survive Government Regulation." Harvard Journal Of Law & Public Policy 36.1 (2013): 87-104. Hovenkamp, Herbert. Ip and Antitrust: An Analysis of Antitrust Principles Applied to Intellectual Property Law. Austin, TX: Wolters Kluwer Law & Business, 2010. Continually updated resource. Kothari, C. R. (2004). Research methodology: Methods and techniques. New Delhi: New Age International (P) Ltd. Paltridge, Brian, and Aek Phakiti. Continuum Companion to Research Methods in Applied Linguistics. London: Continuum, 2010. Print. Read More