Archive for May, 2010

PMO Issues The Order: Canadian DMCA Bill Within Six Weeks

Months of public debate over the future of Canadian copyright law were quietly decided earlier this week, when sources say the Prime Minister's Office reached a verdict over the direction of the next copyright bill.  The PMO was forced to make the call after Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore and […]

Read more ›

May 5, 2010 174 comments News

Liberals Promise Broadband For All

The Liberals have promised broadband for all Canadian communities by 2013 with speeds of at least 1.5 megabits.  Industry Minister Tony Clement says the government's plan will be unveiled shortly.

Read more ›

May 5, 2010 4 comments News

Indian Official: ACTA Out of Sync With TRIPs

IP Watch reports that an Indian government official has acknowledged that India was not asked to participate in the ACTA negotiations and that it is concerned that the text is out of sync with international law.

Read more ›

May 5, 2010 Comments are Disabled News

Ontario Court Sets Standard For Disclosing Anonymous Posters

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has issued its appellate decision on whether the owners of the Free Dominion website can be ordered to disclose the identities of several anonymous posters accused of defamation. The original order covered email and IP addresses.  On appeal, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and CIPPIC intervened to argue that the court should take free speech and privacy rights into consideration when assessing whether an order is appropriate.

Relying heavily on the Sony BMG v. Doe case (the file sharing lawsuit that CRIA now denies exists), the court notes that it "illustrates that a court must have regard to the privacy interests of anonymous users of the Internet before granting a Norwich Phramacal order, even where the issue involved pertains to property rights and does not engage the interest of freedom of expression." 

Read more ›

May 4, 2010 5 comments News

The James Moore Hockey Tweet

As many will have heard, over the weekend Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore posted a tweet saying the Vancouver Canucks are Canada's team in the NHL playoffs.  Denis McGrath wrote a response titled Tweets Have Consequences, which I retweeted on Sunday night.  By Monday, the story took off, with national […]

Read more ›

May 4, 2010 2 comments News