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Internet Monitoring Leads to Terror Arrests

This weekend’s arrest of 17 people in Toronto on terrorism-related arrests have generated significant worldwide attention.  Not to be overlooked are the reports that Internet monitoring played a key role in the investigation. According to the Toronto Star "when CSIS began monitoring the sites allegedly used by some of the […]

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June 4, 2006 5 comments News

Linking to Captain Copyright

One of the discussion points regarding Access Copyright's Captain Copyright, has been the attempt to restrict who can link to the site.  Interestingly, Access Copyright has now altered the specific linking terms.  The earlier version, which is still used for the main Access Copyright site, provided that:

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June 3, 2006 2 comments News

Youthforvolpe.ca

The Globe and Mail ran a piece this morning about a Joe Volpe parody website that was taken down almost immediately, which the article attributed in part to CIRA.  This generated a lot of email, particularly since I am on the CIRA board.  CIRA has just released a statement clarifying […]

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June 2, 2006 9 comments News

Supreme Court Rules Against Overbroad Trademark Rights

The Supreme Court of Canada continues to distinguish itself as the leading high court in the world for recognizing the need for balance in intellectual property law matters.  The latest example is this morning’s pair of trademark decisions involving Mattel’s Barbie trademark and champagne maker Veuve Cliquot.  In both cases, […]

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June 2, 2006 Comments are Disabled News

Captain Copyright

Access Copyright has launched a new site that borders on parody, but is apparently serious.  Captain Copyright, is a new "superhero" that educates children about the virtues of copyright, rushing to the scene in the event that someone publishes research without proper credit.  While my first reaction to the site was that it is just silly, as I dug deeper, I now find it shameful.  These materials, targeting kids as young as six years old, misrepresents many issues and proposes classroom activities that are offensive.

In addition to the Captain Copyright series, there are a series of "games" and educational activities targeting kids and teachers beginning in Grade One. These so-called activities are of particular interest to me since one of my kids is currently in Grade Two and another starts Grade One in September.  It is pointless to go through each exercise to point to the misconceptions and half-truths that it seeks to bring into my child's classroom, but a few merit comment.
private copying copyright education

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May 31, 2006 26 comments News