Fair use is a simple concept. In Canada its known as Fair Dealing. The idea is that no matter what you bought, no company has the right to restrict your actions with the product. Essentially, it follows from the idea that you could buy a newspaper, and cut out clippings of a newspaper article, and give them to everyone. The clipping is what you want to show people. This is perfectly allowed by law, since you OWN that physical copy.

Of course, in the digital world, it gets a little bit upset by some basic characteristics of digital products. Characteristics of digital products:

• Copying is now a zero-cost activity. Or at the very least, neglible cost. Any digital product can be copied to any other medium, can be transferred between computers, stored on MP3 players, stored on phones, etc.
• Copying does not degrade the product. Every copy is zero-cost, and zero-decay. The copy of a song on my mp3 player is a perfect copy. The copy of a show on a dvd is a perfect copy.
• It has become easier than ever to make mashups of content. We can use our own pictures, or even clips from shows, along with music or dialogue to make our own content, derived usefully from copyright content. (See Lawrence Lessig’s talk at TED for some ideas how this works)

Even taking these into account, fair dealing provisions are still eminently necessary. Despite the above, there should be no reason for companies to deny us fair dealing for any reason. I would like to denote that fair dealing does not mean full sharing, but it means backups, and sharing clips and pieces of a work.

Fair dealing allows me to let my co-worker listen to the song I’m listening to. If he likes it, he’ll get it. Fair dealing allows me to back up my files and folders to disc or to an external hard drive, in case of disaster. In fact, disaster hit me once already, and I was very very lucky. Thanks to all the music I had on my mp3 player, I didn’t have to worry. Everything else had to be recovered from the dead hard drive.

The most important thing however, is that fair dealing protects me from depradations, by both the content companies, and by nature. It saves me having to rebuy my music when my computer dies. It saves me having to rebuy my music in the newest most updated form.

Of course, companies hate that. Why… thats lost money right there! Screw you. Thats all I have to say. Getting my money yet again for something I already bought? Thats not capitalism. Thats not offering me better services or products. Thats locking me in to your products. That is not fair.

Fair dealing exists to protect consumers. Yet Bill C-61 eliminates all mention of fair dealing. It is the content cartels most hated two words, because all they can see is the direct loss of money.

They are ignoring the overall benefit of fair dealing. For one, it protects consumers. This is a good thing. Not a bad thing. If a consumer has already paid for a product, they should do with it what they will. No company should be able to stop a consumer from using a bed they bought how they will. And it follows that the same applies to digital content as well.

Another is that it exposes new people, new audiences, to your products. They get to see the clips. They get to hear the music. Word of mouth has become the most important way of sharing information about products. And word of mouth is always improved by actual product viewing/use. I’m more likely to buy a game my friends like than what the hot girl on tv reccomends.

Introducing new people to your products is not a bad thing. But companies see it as bad, since no one paid them for the privilege. You can be perfectly successful using word of mouth. For example, Jonathon Coulton. He composed an addictively hilariously song called Code Monkey, and due to it, is actually making money from gigs. He composed the ending song for Portal, dontchaknow.

There are a few more important things that fair dealing protects: Parody, criticism, and satire. These are essential parts of a healthy artistic community. As well, parody and satire are a neccesary component of Canadian humour. Making those illegal will harm artists, critics, and even students of art everywhere. Plus, the comedians will be less funny. Do you want unfunny comedians?

More reason to want fair dealing: it allows criticism, parody, and satire of ridiculous content… like scientologists. Under Bill C-61, they could sue anyone that talked about their religion’s texts negatively for $20,000. Don’t believe me? They’ve done it in the states.

So really, if you want to be able to use your stuff how you want, without worrying if a company will sue you for Umpteen million dollars, talk to your MP about Bill C-61. Direct them to well, any site against it. Explain how it does not protect you the consumer, and how that is more important than lining the wallets of already rich companies.