How’s this for a fine how-do-you-do? It seems Canada is preparing, in conjunction with other G8 countries, some sort of trade agreement that would make having copyrighted material on your iPod and laptop (and so on) illegal. What’s more, the framework would give international border guards the authority to confiscate such electronic devices based on the mere suspicion of copyright infringement. Surely this must be a joke, right?

If only it were. Details of the agreement, officially called the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, or ACTA, were leaked at the weekend. The way the initial reports describe the agreement, it sounds like a dream come true for Hollywood. It would, in effect, criminalize having an illicit MP3 on your iPod or an episode of Lost on your ThinkPad. Best delete that Men Without Hats album.

Right now, the agreement is still only being discussed, but there’s a possibility it could be presented at the next G8 Summit, to be held in Japan in July.

Can someone play “The World Turned Upside Down,” please?

via MacWorld UK