Must Reads

• Guardian on UK Digital Economy Bill

  The Guardian's editorial on the UK bill pulls no punches:
  
  The digital economy bill is misnamed. A more honest title for the legislation, recently introduced in the Lords, would be the copyright protection and punishment bill. It is less about creating the digital businesses of the 21st century than protecting the particular 20th century business models used in music and film. The bill is narrow in vision but dangerously broad in creating sweeping ministerial powers to punish digital pirates. It boils Digital Britain down to three Ms - media, music and movies - myopically ignoring the pioneers of new technology, and showing a blind spot for all creativity outside the so-called creative industries. Nov.25/09Comments (0)

• Billy Bragg on Music and Copyright

  Billy Bragg and Charlie Angus hosted a press conference last week that included Safwan Javed of Wide Mouth Mason (and the Canadian Music Creators Coalition) and Don Quarles of the Songwriters Association of Canada.  The event attracted some media attention and a video of the event has now been posted online. Nov.25/09Comments (0)

• Weatherall on ACTA in Australia

  Kim Weatherall has published an updated Australian analysis of what ACTA would mean in that country. Nov.25/09Comments (0)

• Court Orders Rogers To Stop Network Reliability Claims

  A B.C. court has ordered Rogers to stop advertising claims that it has "Canada's Most Reliable" wireless network. The ruling came following a lawsuit launched by Telus challenging the claims. Nov.25/09Comments (1)

• U.S. Senators Call for ACTA Transparency

  While the MPAA characterizes the calls for ACTA transparency as a distraction, at least two U.S. Senators do not agree.  Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VI) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) have written to USTR, asking that the ACTA text be made public. Nov.24/09Comments (1)

• Library Content Alliance on ACTA

  The Library Content Alliance has produced an issue brief on ACTA demonstrating specific concerns to the library community. Nov.24/09Comments (0)

• Canton on Digital Copyright Reform

  David Canton, writing in the London Free Press on digital copyright: "the three strikes proposal is not a palatable solution." Nov.24/09Comments (1)

• CWTA on Canadian Wireless

  "Canada's cellphone market is 'hypercompetitive'" Nov.24/09Comments (2)

• Government To Introduce ISP Child Porn Reporting Bill

  Multiple reports this morning indicate that the government plans to introduce a new bill requiring ISPs to report child pornography websites to designated authorities. More on the bill when it is released, but the government is apparently treating this as part of the lawful access package. Further, cybertip.ca already provides a tipline service and the largest ISPs already block child pornography images identified on the Cybertip.ca list. Nov.23/09Comments (11)

• NDP, Billy Bragg Make Case For Legalized Downloading

  The NDP's Charlie Angus and musician Billy Bragg held a press conference in Ottawa this morning to argue against criminalizing music downloading, instead supporting mechanisms to fully legalize the activity.
  Nov.20/09Comments (0)