Industry Minister Tony Clement confesses to routine lawbreaking
Tony Clement has managed to keep a relatively clean record in the Harper government: he’s hasn’t freaked out at airport workers, dropped an F-bomb in front of activists, or forgetten that Canada includes Quebec. He has, however, confessed to breaking the law.
The National Post has the sordid details:
“The fact of the matter is I have compact discs that I’ve transferred, I have compact discs from my children or my wife that I’ve transferred on to my iPod. None of that is allowable under the current regime,” [said] Mr. Clement, a music buff who also legally purchases songs from iTunes to build a digital database that now stands at 10,452 songs.
Prosecutors are notoriously shy when it comes to taking on government officials, so Clement is probably safe until his party manages to change the laws in his—and our—favour. New copyright legislation will be unveiled in a matter of days.
The idea that, in 2010, it’s illegal to move music from a CD to an iPod is more than a little baffling. On the other hand, who buys CDs anymore?
• Clement to fix copyright law he broke [National Post]
