A couple of the events that I’ve written about recently have had some updates, so I’m just going to do a quick bringing together of those stories.

First, last week I wrote on Copyright, and Canada’s DMCA, which would have been far more restrictive even than the one here in the US. The legislation has been postponed from being presented to Canada’s parliament, likely due to the enormous outcry from Canadian bloggers and traditional media outlets.

This is a huge success for Canadians, and shows that public outcry and action can still influence lawmakers to better consider the needs of the people they represent. The bill is still going to be introduced at some point, which is fine, as long as it affords reasonable protections for fair use. Michael Geist was the blogger to break this story, and one of the leaders of the movement against the bill. The Canadians not through the woods yet, however. It’s possible the pulling of the bill is merely a delaying tactic, to try to squeeze it through when the people are looking. Remain vigilant, but congratulations Canucks.

In regards to yesterday’s post about RIAA lawsuits against file-sharers, it appears that at least one company has managed to convince labels that maybe things aren’t all bad. As presented on Slashdot, imeem.com has signed deals with the big five of Record Labels; Warner Brothers, Sony, BMG, EMI, and Universal, to allow their users to share MP3s with one another. The labels are recieving a cut of advertising revenues gained from the site.

I don’t see the RIAA going after file-sharing networks where they don’t stand to get a financial cut, but at least the premise that file-sharing can be legal and endorsed by the labels is being tried, and hopefully it will be proven. I’ve posted about not being a fan of Social Networking sites in the past, but I’m curious about IMeem now, and might actually register for my first social networking site, at least to check it out.

It’s kind of strange to write about good news for a change, but it’s a pleasant one. Let’s hope that the good news continues to flow.