Archive for January, 2008

CRTC to Delegate Do-Not-Call List Enforcement

The CRTC announced yesterday that it plans to delegate enforcement of the do-not-call list. The Commission previously delegated the maintenance of the list itself to Bell Canada.

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January 29, 2008 9 comments News

ISP Safe Harbour Called Thieves Charter

Paul McGuinness, U2's manager, calls on ISPs to adopt content blocking systems and subscriber termination.

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January 29, 2008 6 comments News

Doctorow on Commercial vs. Cultural Uses

Cory Doctorow's latest Guardian column focuses on the need to distinguish between commercial and cultural uses in copyright law.

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January 29, 2008 Comments are Disabled News

ISPs Face New Role in Network Control

Appeared in the Toronto Star on January 28, 2008 as The Dangers of 'Locking Down' the Internet Appeared in the Ottawa Citizen on January 29, 2008 as New Strategy Emerges to Change the Locks to Police Online Content Appeared in the BBC on January 29, 2008 as ISPs New Role […]

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January 29, 2008 2 comments Columns Archive

The Canadian DMCA: A Summary To-Date

As the likelihood of the introduction of a Canadian DMCA increases, I've received a large number of requests for a brief summary the issue and the mounting concerns.  This is not easy given copyright's complexity, but it is important to ensure that more Canadians better understand the issue. 

My short version would be that there is concern with what the bill is likely to contain (modeled after the U.S. DMCA which has had a negative effect on innovation, privacy, education, and research), what it is unlikely to contain (nothing on fair dealing, time shifting, device shifting, the private copying levy), and how it came about (no public consultation, strong-armed pressure from the U.S.).  As for what reforms we should have, I think my eight Fair Copyright for Canada principles are balanced and meet the goal of complying with the WIPO treaties.

For those that want to dive a bit deeper, I'd recommend the following five posts:

Want to get involved?  Here is my list of 30 things you can do, which includes joining the national Fair Copyright for Canada Facebook group and a local chapter.  Copyright for Canadians has even more comprehensive list.

Want to dig even deeper? 

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January 28, 2008 Comments are Disabled Stop CDMCA