As Access Copyright reworks its Captain Copyright campaign, a reader notes that an ideal role model already exists. The Learning Commons in South Africa offers Copyright, Copyleft, and Everything in Between. The program, aimed at Grade 9 students, provides precisely the kind of balance that Access Copyright will have to […]
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30 Days of DRM – Day 04: DRM Misuse Sanctions (Markets)
Yesterday's posting focused on the role that the Competition Bureau should play in addressing DRM misuse. While that role is an important one, it is by no means sufficient to address the misuse problem. The Bureau will undoubtedly be hampered by inadequate resources, institutional bias against taking "risky" cases, and statutory limitations that constrict its role to abuse of dominance cases. Therefore, in addition to Bureau oversight, the law should contain provisions that establish strong disincentives to overreaching or abusive use of DRMs.
Last fall's Sony rootkit case, in which Sony placed hundreds of thousands of personal computers at risk for viruses and other security breaches by surreptitiously placing DRM on dozens of its music CDs, is a model illustration of the havoc that DRM misuse can generate. While the Sony case is not an abuse of dominant position case, there are good policy reasons to create disincentives to ensure that overzealous companies will not misuse DRM.
Several potential disincentives come to mind.
Spamigation
Brad Templeton had a very interesting post over the weekend on Dave Farber's list in which he characterized the RIAA lawsuit strategy as an example of spamigation – "bulk litigation that's only become practical due to the economies of scale of the computer era."
30 Days of DRM – Day 03: Oversight of DRM Misuse (Markets)
Today's installment focuses on the need for an amendment to the Competition Act should Canada introduce anti-circumvention legislation. The Act should be amended to ensure that the Competition Bureau is not restricted in its ability to bring actions against abusive behaviour stemming from the application of an anti-circumvention provision.
This argument is a bit technical, but important.
Statscan Survey Shows Internet’s Potential and Pitfalls
My weekly Law Bytes column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) examines recent Statistics Canada data on Internet use. The survey found that nearly 17 million Canadians – 68 percent of the adult population – used the Internet for personal non-business reasons last year. Moreover, almost two-thirds of Canadian adults who […]
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