WebProNews

US Trade Representative rewards Canadian rejection of DMCA by placing Canada on an intellectual property watch list.

The Canadian government has attempted to balance the rights of copyright holders and of users. Specifically, only circumvention of a copyright with the intent to infringe on that copyright would be illegal.

The United States Trade Representative (USTR) responded in its annual Section 301 report by calling upon Canada to not only adopt World Intellectual Property Organization standards, but to go even further.

One standard the USTR wants Canada to adopt is a "notice-and-takedown" system to encourage cooperation by ISPs in combating online infringements.

A Canadian law professor contends US lobbyists will pressure Canada to adopt Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)-like provisions.

"If history is any indicator, the copyright reform plan is going to face an onslaught of U.S.-backed lobbying for stronger protections in the months ahead," says the University of Ottawa's Michael Geist.

David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business. Email him here.