Mr. Chair, thank you for the opportunity. I'll just make a few points.
The first is that I think Professor Geist is absolutely talking about free copying. When it comes to the educational exception, one can copy up to a substantial part without infringing. Anything over or above that would normally be subject to compensation authorization. If you introduce fair dealing for education, the fairness factor is free, uncompensated copying.
The second is the format shift exception. If it's opened up so that anybody can do format shifting even when they buy something with a digital lock, that is significant, uncompensated copying that will only result in difficulties in the marketplace.
The assumption behind Professor Geist's remarks is that there is a problem. When I buy a CD, I don't have a problem. I can put it onto an iPod. It simply isn't a problem today. These laws have been in place in Europe for over a decade, and the problems that he's articulated simply don't exist.
The other thing to mention--and we haven't focused on this--is that because of the way the TPMs are structured, there are not only significant exemptions but also very significant regulatory powers that the government has to deal with any problems: first, it can deal with anti-competitive conduct; second, it can create new exemptions wherever they're needed, and that includes exemptions that might be needed to exercise fair-dealing rights, which include research private study and instruction in an educational context; third, the bill contains provisions that let the government also require copyright holders to make works available in a format they can use if their exceptions are things they can't exercise.
There isn't a problem and there's not likely to be a problem, but in the event that there is one, they contemplate that it can be solved because of the way the TPM provisions are structured.
I can tell you that the structure we have is better than the structure in the U.S., which only has rule-making. It is better than in the EU, which only permits a power to make works available. This is a combination, and with all these things in place, I just don't know what the big concern is.