Archive for February, 2005

Copyright and Faith in the Free Market

My weekly Law Bytes column (Toronto Star version, HTML backup article, homepage version) in the Toronto Star focuses on the Canadian recording industry's rejection of alternative compensation systems on the grounds that it prefers to rely on the free market. The column notes that the industry has been a leading proponent of government involvement, consistently seeking both financial support and legislative intervention. It concludes that as Canada heads toward yet another round of copyright reform, policymakers and politicians should be mindful that they have already used legislative intervention to establish many rights and protections that have tilted the copyright balance heavily toward creators at the expense of users.

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February 21, 2005 Comments are Disabled Columns

Renegades Spam Complaint Apparently New News

The Ottawa Business Journal today features an article on my successful privacy complaint against the Ottawa Renegades for sending me unsolicited commercial email and not respecting a request to opt-out. While the story is a bit old, it is new to some people — the story appears on Slashdot today, likely raising more awareness of the decision than an appearance on CBC's As It Happens.

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February 21, 2005 Comments are Disabled News

Music Industry Doesn’t Need More Government Protection

link to archive   

In these politically charged times, there is a tendency to view many policy issues, whether they be same sex marriage or tax reform, through a narrow lens — left or right, blue or red, liberal or conservative. The same is true for copyright issues.

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February 21, 2005 Comments are Disabled Columns Archive

Privacy Breaches Shouldn’t Stay Private

Professor Geist’s weekly Toronto Star column (Toronto Star version, HTML backup article, homepage version) calls on Canadian lawmakers to follow the California lead by adopting a law that requires organizations to publicly disclose privacy breaches to their customers. It argues that privacy breaches, including instances of misused personal information or […]

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February 14, 2005 Comments are Disabled Columns

Revise Privacy Law To Protect Public, Not Offenders

In the coming months, Industry Minister David Emerson will lead the federal government on a review of Canada's national privacy law, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). Critics are likely to call for tougher enforcement measures, better reporting of decisions, and an end to the Federal Privacy Commissioner's policy that shields organizations that are the target of successful complaints.

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February 14, 2005 Comments are Disabled Columns Archive