Archive for November 23rd, 2010

Separating Copyright Facts from Fiction Ahead of Legislative Hearings

Canadian copyright law promises to dominate discussion in Ottawa over the coming weeks as hearings on Bill C-32, the controversial copyright bill, are set to begin within a few days. My weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) notes that if the past six months are any indication, Members of Parliament will be asked to sort through confusing rhetoric in order to understand the implications of the proposed changes.  Separating fact from fiction will not be easy, but getting straight answers to the following questions will be crucial:

1.    Will Bill C-32 give education institutions the right to engage in massive uncompensated copying?

No. The inclusion of education as a fair dealing category will not mean that any educational copying will be free.  It will only mean that educational copying will be eligible for analysis under a six-part test developed by the Supreme Court of Canada to determine whether the copying qualifies as fair dealing. The changes in Bill C-32 are more modest than often claimed as they merely fill some gaps in the existing list of fair dealing categories.

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November 23, 2010 18 comments Columns

Separating Copyright Facts from Fiction Ahead of Legislative Hearings

Appeared in the Toronto Star on November 21, 2010 as Separating Copyright Facts from Fiction Canadian copyright law promises to dominate discussion in Ottawa over the coming weeks as hearings on Bill C-32, the controversial copyright bill, are set to begin within a few days. If the past six months […]

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November 23, 2010 1 comment Columns Archive

Clement’s Digital Economy Strategy Speech

Industry Minister Tony Clement delivered an update on the digital economy strategy in a speech that was disappointingly short on specifics.  There were some comments on timelines for spectrum auctions and foreign investment (heading into 2012), but no reference to open access or open data and no real benchmarks or […]

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November 23, 2010 1 comment News

Katz Submission to the Copyright Board on Access Copyright

University of Toronto law professor Ariel Katz has a must-read submission to the Copyright Board on the ongoing effort by Access Copyright to exclude objectors to the tariff proceeding.

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November 23, 2010 6 comments News

Microsoft Embraces Modification of Kinect Boxes

The EFF and Mashable note that Microsoft has changed its tune on modifications to its new Kinect box.  While initially indicating it would work with law enforcement to stop the activity, it now says that the Kinect was left open for tinkering by design.

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November 23, 2010 3 comments News