Archive for July 28th, 2008

The Craft Economy on C-61

The Torontoist writes about The Craft Economy's effort to raise awareness on C-61. Update: Mathew Ingram of the Globe and Mail covers the Craft Economy initiative. 

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July 28, 2008 Comments are Disabled News

CIRA’s Whois Debacle

I've written in the past about the hugely disappointing CIRA decision to backtrack on its WHOIS policy and create backdoor access for special interests.  CIRA has now posted the minutes (1, 2, 3) associated with the decision-making process and the deep divide within the board becomes immediately evident.  The minutes […]

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July 28, 2008 9 comments News

IT World Canada Launches C-61 Petition

ITWorldCanada has launched a new petition on C-61, focusing on anti-circumvention legislation. The petition adopts an approach that preserves permitted uses by calling for reform of the bill by amending the anti-circumvention provisions to read: "No person shall circumvent a technological measure within the meaning of paragraph (a) of the […]

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July 28, 2008 1 comment News

61 Reforms to C-61, Day 26: TPMs – Encryption Research Exception Requires Notice

As discussed in the last entry, Bill C-61 includes an exception for encryption research much like the U.S. DMCA.  The U.S. DMCA exception has been widely criticized as providing insufficient legal protection for legitimate encryption research, leading to significant concerns in the research community about the prospect for liability.  The […]

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July 28, 2008 16 comments News

Government Planning “Insider” ACTA Group

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the leaders of G8 countries closed their recent summit in Hokkaido, Japan by encouraging "the acceleration of negotiations to establish a new international legal framework, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), and seek to complete the negotiation by the end of this year."  The decision to fast-track the controversial ACTA has led to new momentum for the still-secret treaty as the Australian government recently disclosed that a new round of negotiations will commence this week.

My weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) reveals that alongside the negotiations, officials have been developing plans to establish an "insider" group comprised solely of government departments and industry lobby groups who would be provided with special access to treaty documentation and discussion.  According to documents obtained under the Access to Information Act, the government has been crafting an Intellectual Property and Trade Advisory Group. The initial plans for membership in the group were limited exclusively to 12 government departments and 14 industry lobby groups.  These include the Canadian Recording Industry Association, the Canadian Motion Picture and Distributors Association, and the Entertainment Software Association of Canada.

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July 28, 2008 14 comments Columns