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Canadian Broadband Growth Ranks 29th Out Of 30 OECD Countries

The OECD this week released its annual broadband statistics for the 30 OECD countries.  The release notes that Canada ranks at the top of the G7 countries in terms of broadband penetration.  A closer examination of the data, however, reveals that that good news masks far more disturbing trends.  As recently as 2003, Canada ranked second in the OECD in broadband penetration.  In 2004, it slipped to fifth and last year it dropped to eighth.  This year, Canada dropped another spot to ninth and it is safe bet that it will drop out of the top 10 by next year.

Not only is Canada dropping in comparison to other OECD countries, but Canada's growth rate ranks second worst among all OECD countries.  The OECD chart lists the countries alphabetically, but it is much more revealing to examine both overall rank and growth rates.

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April 24, 2007 17 comments News

IDRC Launches Open Access Repository

The International Development Research Centre has launched the IDRC Digital Library, becoming the first federal research granting institution to establish an open access institutional repository for the research that it funds.

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April 24, 2007 Comments are Disabled News

CRIA’s “Anti-Piracy” Spending

The Copyright Board of Canada is currently conducting the Tariff 22 hearings with "the Coalition" (which includes CRIA and Apple) scheduled to appear next week.  Public access to the parties' submissions typically excludes most financial information, however, the witness statement from CRIA President Graham Henderson contains an interesting piece of […]

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April 24, 2007 Comments are Disabled News

CIRA Looking For New Directors

The Canadian Internet Registration Authority Nomination Committee has put out the call for new directors.

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April 24, 2007 Comments are Disabled News

U.S. Copyright Report More Rhetoric Than Reality

My weekly Law Bytes column (Toronto Star version, homepage version, Ottawa Citizen version) discusses this week's release of the USTR's Special 301 Report.  This year, it is a virtual certainty that Canada will receive special attention, with the U.S. claiming that the country has neglected to address critical issues and suggesting that it is rapidly emerging as a piracy haven.  I focus on three issues likely to generate criticism in the Special 301 report – the fact that Canada has not ratified the World Intellectual Property Organization's Internet treaties, extended the term of copyright by an additional 20 years, or introduced anti-camcording legislation designed to stem movie piracy.

Notwithstanding the pressure on Canada to act on these issues, even one-time U.S. supporters are beginning to admit that these policies are open to doubt. Last month, Bruce Lehman, who served as the Assistant Secretary of Commerce in the Clinton Administration where he was the chief architect of the WIPO Internet treaties, acknowledged that "our Clinton administration policies didn't work out very well."  Meanwhile, Marybeth Peters, the U.S. Registrar of Copyrights has noted that the U.S. extension of copyright was a "big mistake," and the President of the U.S. National Theater Owners Association has advised his members that notwithstanding the introduction of anti-camcording laws, unauthorized camcording in the U.S. is on the rise.

Not only are the policies suspect, but the USTR report should be seen for what it is – a biased analysis of Canadian law supported by a well-orchestrated lobby effort.  Since the mid-1990s, the USTR has placed intellectual property protection at the very top of its priority list.  As a result, dozens of countries have entered into trade agreements with the U.S. in which they undertake to implement U.S. style intellectual property protections. 

Canada has not faced similar trade pressures – the North American Free Trade Agreement pre-dates the shift in USTR priorities – yet it has not been spared intense U.S. lobbying.

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April 23, 2007 1 comment Columns