BattleGoat Chief Not Enamored with Canadian Copyright Bill

BattleGoat Studios co-founder and co-owner George Geczy has called Canada’s newly proposed copyright bill (C-32) “unacceptable and entirely unbalanced.”

Specifically, Geczy takes issue with the digital rights management section of the Bill, and is strongly in favor of allowing consumers to break digital locks in order to make a back up, or to unlock content from companies that may have gone out of business or had their copyright expire.

In a letter on the subject, as reported by CBC News, Geczy stated, “While nobody would question the cultural significance and imperative for preservation of a Shakespeare play or Beethoven symphony, cultural media in the past decades has suffered significant content losses when commercial entities do not see a financial benefit in preservation."

Geczy also advocated going after large-scale counterfeiters, but believes that individuals who engage in infringement should be left alone.

He also complained that the Entertainment Software Association of Canada does not “speak for independent Canadian studios,” and criticized the organization for supporting C-32.

ESA Canada spokesperson Julien Lavoie responded by saying, “To infer that non-member independent video game developers don't want legal protections for their copyrighted works is false.”

Lavoie continued “The proposed bill doesn't obligate anyone to use technological protection measures — it simply gives creators the right to protect their work from theft if they choose."