Post Tagged with: "bains"

Canada Copyright Board: Challenges & Opportunities #copycon2015 panel by Giulia Forsythe (CC BY 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/z73WDe

Prioritizing the Public Interest: My Submission on Copyright Board of Canada Reform

The government’s consultation on reform to the Copyright Board of Canada recently closed with a plan for reform expected to be unveiled in the coming months. My submission to the consultation is posted below. It focuses on two areas. First, it emphasizes the overriding goal of any public institution or administrative tribunal: serving the public interest. In doing so, it points to three issues: public participation, the independence of members of the Copyright Board, and regulation and transparency of copyright collectives.

On this last issue, I note the close linkage between the parties that appear or are affected by board decisions and reform of the board itself. While the consultation document maintains that governance of collecting societies is beyond the scope of the consultation, I argue that solely addressing administrative powers wielded by the board without also assessing the rules pertaining to participation before the board will not adequately address concerns regarding the function of the board itself. In other words, the who and the how are inextricably linked and must be addressed concurrently.

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October 16, 2017 6 comments Committees, News
Equifax Key by GotCredit (CC BY 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/TqZ2V2

Into the Breach: How Canada’s Security Breach Disclosure Regulations Fall Short

With security breaches regularly affecting millions (or even billions) of people, effective security breach disclosure rules are an essential part of a modern privacy law framework. It may surprise many to learn that Canada still does not have mandatory security breach disclosure rules that require companies to notify affected individuals in effect. Rules were passed in 2015, but the accompanying regulations were puzzlingly slow to emerge. The government finally released proposed regulations late in the summer with a consultation that closed earlier this week. My submission, which focused on implementation, content of notices, and proposed “indirect” notification, is posted below.

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October 4, 2017 4 comments News
Broadband chart, European Commission, Fixed Broadband Prices in Europe 2016, p. 40 https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/fixed-broadband-prices-europe-2016

European Commission Backed Study Confirms Canada Among the Most Expensive for Broadband Internet Access

The European Commission has released a new study it commissioned on broadband pricing in Europe and several other leading countries. It confirms yet again what Canadian consumers have long suspected: Canada is among the most expensive countries in the developed economy world for broadband Internet services. The study, which provides data on the 2016 retail pricing for consumers throughout the EU, Canada, the U.S., Japan, South Korea, Norway, and Iceland, found Canadians consistently face some of the most expensive pricing regardless of speed or whether the packages include local telephone and television services. The survey was conducted over a two-week period in October 2016 and included retail pricing for five major Canadian ISPs: Bell, Shaw, Rogers, Videotron, and Telus. The data includes procedures to account for one-off fees and other discounts.

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September 26, 2017 5 comments News
Notice and Notice notice

Why Has the Government Failed to Act on Copyright Notice-and-Notice When Internal Docs Raise Abuse and Fraud Concerns?

Canada’s copyright notice-and-notice system has been the subject of controversy and misuse since the moment it launched in 2015.  The system was intended to educate the public on copyright and reduce infringing activity through awareness (experience indicated the approach worked), but has been misused by copyright owners who have used it to send millions of settlement demands to unsuspecting Canadians.  The misuse of the system was even the subject a question to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during question period earlier this year.

While fixing the problem should be relatively easy – new regulations could prescribe precisely what may be included in the notice or there could be a prohibition on including settlement offers or demands within the notices – but the government has dragged its feet on the issue. The Conservatives knew there was a problem, but instead chose to prioritize extending the term of copyright for sound recordings after a behind-the-scenes lobbying campaign. The Liberals have similarly not acted on the issue, putting Copyright Board reform ahead in the queue.

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September 13, 2017 14 comments News
copyright definition. by Nick Youngson http://nyphotographic.com/ CC BY-SA 3.0 http://www.thebluediamondgallery.com/c/copyright.html

Canadian Government Puts Copyright Board Overhaul on Fast Track With Consultation Launching Tomorrow

The Canadian government is planning the most significant changes to the Copyright Board of Canada in decades with a consultation set to officially launch tomorrow. Given the longstanding concerns with the Board from creators and users alike, the government has decided to place board reform on a fast track that is separate from the broader copyright review scheduled to commence later this year. The consultation, which will outline potential reforms to address delays and case backlogs, will run until late September. Navdeep Bains, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, working with Canadian Heritage, hopes to introduce a Copyright Board reform legislative and regulatory package in early 2018.

I spoke earlier today to Bains, who explained that the government believes there needs to be quicker decisions, greater transparency, and an effort to address the current backlog given concerns about ensuring creators are paid and in bringing new innovative service to the Canadian market. The consultation, being held jointly by ISED, Canadian Heritage and the Board, will identify several potential measures to address the board delays including case management processes, establishing new case deadlines, streamlining cases before the board, as well as giving the board more power to advance proceedings, award costs, and limit the ability for parties to delay proceedings.

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August 8, 2017 5 comments News