By Emilia de Somma

Photo credit: Jon Khan

Special to Inter Pares

With the aim of raising critical awareness of the copyright issues facing Canadians today, the Law and Technology Student Society (LTSS) hosted a night of edutainment on March 4^th, with its CopyLEFT Mixer. Held at Club SAW’s fantastic venue (http://www.galeriesawgallery.com/), the event also served as an official welcome and kick-off party for the University of Ottawa’s new Centre for Law, Technology and Society. The CopyLEFT Mixer brought together law & tech junkies from the University’s Faculty of Law and from the greater Ottawa community, for a night of thought-provoking discussion and ear-catching grooves.

The event began with three panel discussions moderated by the Centre’s Executive Director, Madelaine Saginur. They featured the University’s leading thinkers in the field of technology law, and Canadian artists who grapple with these legal issues while creating and sharing their music with the world.

David Fewer (Director of CIPPIC – the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic), and professors Jeremy deBeer and Michael Geist provided the audience with their insights and expertise on topics ranging from copyright law itself, to the music industry and business models – both current and emerging, to public policy and role of copyright reform advocacy. Joining them, and sharing their unique perspectives as music biz insiders, were local musicians pH (Sean P.H. Cambpell), and Jordan Allen, Daniel Kaunisviita (Director) and Mack Johnson (General Manager) of an Ottawa arts collective called PLACE Records (http://placemachine.com). Rounding out the panellists and playing a dual role, was Safwan Javed, who may be best known as the drummer for band Wide Mouth Mason, but who also is a music/entertainment/copyright lawyer.

For electronic musicians like Jordan Allen and pH, the dictates of copyright law are always just around the corner. Since their music involves mash-ups, beat manipulation, and a considerable use of sampling, the way copyright law treats these modes of creation is a live issue, and can potentially impede their freedom to create.

At the same time, artists and their management – both big and small – are grappling to reconcile the music industry’s old business model with a modern consumer society where record sales are down, and P2P is up. Contrary to popular belief, Professor Geist says, Canada is not a haven for piracy. Still, it’s probably time for a paradigm shift in the music industry, for a move towards a business model that can monetize and protect the contributions of songwriters, performers, recording artists, and record labels.

PLACE Records sees its role here, acting as a service provider for a collective of like-minded artists - that can adjust to the evolving marketplace better than the traditional “Big 4” record labels, using new media and technologies to their advantage.

The discussion also highlighted the importance of advocacy, and the tremendous resource that University of Ottawa law students have at their fingertips, in the form of CIPPIC, to become engaged in the debate.

To wrap the evening up, musical entertainment was provided by the Comma Supra, featuring the law school’s very own Professor Ian Kerr, and the night was capped off by performances from Jordan Allen, pH, and the musical stylings of DJ Michael Caffrey.

Overall, the CopyLEFT Mixer was an event that educated and enlightened attendees. Maybe most importantly, it challenged us to reconsider and even reconceptualise Canada’s existing copyright regime.

The LTSS would like to thank ScotiaBank for their financial support in helping make this incredible event possible.

In the upcoming weeks, watch the LTSS’s space http://www.ltss.ca/, for video of the panel discussion!

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Photo caption:
Madelaine Saginur (Executive Director, Centre for Law, Technology and Society) moderates the “Business and Copyright” panel, featuring: Professor Jeremy deBeer, Mack Johnson, Daniel Kaunisviita, and Safwan
Javed. (Photo Credit: Jon Khan (1L, Common Law))