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Written by tinfoil
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Friday, 01 September 2006 16:38
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Michael Geist: The Canadian Private Copying Collective is out with an Environics survey
it commissioned on Canadians' attitudes toward the private copying
levy. While I give full marks to the CPCC for releasing the survey
results in full (presumably it would have been made available as part
of their submission to the Copyright Board anyway), it is time to
declare a moratorium on the use of polls as policymaking. As I have noted before,
CRIA's regular Pollara polls are rendered useless by virtue of the
omission of key questions, inconsistent results, and the lack of public
awareness on the issues.
This CPCC study falls into the same category.
Apparently it is being used to convince the Copyright Board
that Canadians think that the levy is reasonable (indeed they would be
comfortable if it was double the current rate) and that they're all for
a $40 levy on MP3 players. Yet you don't even have to scratch the
surface to see how this survey is meaningless. Of the survey
respondents, 70 percent haven't copied songs onto a blank CD, 80
percent haven't copied songs onto an MP3 player, 66 percent haven't
bought any blank CDs, and 80 percent were not aware of the levy - a
survey pool which (even if it is representative) seems unlikely to be
able to render informed opinions about the reasonableness of the levy
and blank CD pricing.
Further, there is missing information from the questions. For example:
- The
survey asks if 50 cents is reasonable for a blank CD, but fails to ask
whether the respondent thinks that 40 percent or more of the sale price
should be levy.
- The survey notes that some other countries
have levy schemes, but fails to note that countries like the U.S. treat
this form of personal copying as fair use.
More importantly, there are the unasked questions:
- What percentage of your blank CDs are used for recorded music?
- Do you think it is fair that the levy covers all blank CDs, regardless of their use?
- Are you aware that private copying does not distinguish between the source of recorded music and may include P2P systems?
- Do you think it is fair that the recording industry seeks to label such copying as infringing?
- Are you aware of how the levy is distributed?
- Do you think it is fair that foreign artists are not compensated in the same way as Canadians?
- Are you aware that even with the levy you are not currently permitted to copy to your iPod?
- Are
you aware that the government is contemplating copyright legislation
that would stop you from making copies to a blank CD if the recording
industry uses copy-blocking technologies?
Commissioned
surveys by self-interested stakeholders that strive for a specific
result do nothing to benefit our understanding of the issues. It is
time for policy makers and agencies like the Copyright Board to stop
accepting them as part of their policy process.
Source: Michael Geist.
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