A recent blog post on the Digital Copyright Canada Website pointed to another blog post on the creatorscopyright.ca website which suggests that Canadian Lawyer, and educator, Michael Geist is to blame for Hockey Night in Canada, failing to come to an agreement with the creator of their theme song.
There are a few things that bug me about this blog post, which I wish to share with the world...
1. The premise that a lawyer who advocates for fair copyright legislation is to blame for Hockey Night in Canada's "loss" of its theme song.
2. The fact that save for one line, the author makes no link between his sensationalist title and the content of the po st.
3. That the author refers to Michael Geist's "anti-copyright arguments" when in fact Geist supports "fair" copyright legislation, not "no copyright legislation"
4. The argument that the CBC is cheap and doesn't think that artist's should be compensated for their work just doesn't hold up. The CBC wasn't saying in it's negotiations with the song's creator that she shouldn't be compensated, but that they disagreed with the amount which the song was worth, and that they wanted all outstanding leagal proceedings against them by the song's creator to be dropped. This hardly implies that the CBC wanted the song for free!
5. The article also points to the fact that most comments on the issue made by Canadians were in support of Hockey Night in Canada continuing to use the song. I myself am one of those, but like most other Canadians I am sure, I make this statement for reasons of nostalgia. As a Canadian Taxpayer and "shareholder" in the CBC I am proud of the fact that they used fiscal restraint in their negotiations, and I am sure many other Canadians feel this way too. Twisting the comments and public reaction to mean anything else is absurd.
6.I also was taken aback by the fact that Creator's Copyright website does not publicly display comments on it's site, but rather emails them under a veil of secrecy to the Organization. I have a feeling it is because they would see that the majority of comments on articles such as the one they published on June 7th, would be highly criticized!
7.The fact that I even linked to the blog post in the first place!
At the end of the day, the CBC's decision was a fiscal one, and to suggest anything otherwise is absurd. To create a link to the idea that Michael Geist is somehow responsible is even more irresponsible.
I welcome you to share your comments on the matter, which I will publicly post for all to see!
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