"CWTA is not aware of even a single circumstance when law enforcement has demonstrated an inability to obtain CNA information from the wireless industry. CWTA notes that the types of 'basic identifiers' sought for wireless services go well beyond what virtually anyone would consider basic."
Archive for October 16th, 2007
Here Comes the DMCA
With U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Wilkins looking on, the Conservative government unveiled its Speech from the Throne tonight. Wilkins and the copyright lobby undoubtedly liked what they heard. As expected, the government has prioritized copyright reform, promising to "improve the protection of cultural and intellectual property rights in Canada, […]
Music Industry Needs Dose Of Innovation, Not Intervention
My weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, Ottawa Citizen version, The Tyee version, homepage version) focuses on the contrast between artists such as Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails that are adopting new distribution models, and the recording industry, which continues to lobby for anti-circumvention legislation. In the weeks leading up to today's Speech from the Throne, CRIA and others lobby groups have urged the government to prioritize intellectual property protection.
While the data suggests that peer-to-peer file sharing is at best only a minor reason for the decline (more significant is competition from DVD and video game sales and the emergence of big box retailers such as Wal-Mart who have pushed down retail prices and decimated sales of older titles), events over the past month have provided the clearest indication yet that musicians and music sellers are charting a new course that is leaving the major record labels behind.
In the mid-1990s, the industry focused on retaining its core business model by emphasizing two strategies. First, it relied on copy-control technologies, supported by additional legal measures, to curtail unauthorized copying. Second, it lobbied for the establishment of a private copying levy on blank media to compensate for the copying that technology could not control.
Ten years later, that strategy is now in tatters.


Recent Posts
Canadian Government Caves on Digital Services Tax After Years of Dismissing the Risks of Trade Retaliation
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 238: David Fraser on Why Bill C-2’s Lawful Access Powers May Put Canadians’ Digital Security At Risk
Ignoring the Warning Signs: Why Did the Canadian Government Dismiss the Trade Risks of a Digital Services Tax?
Why Bill C-2 Faces a Likely Constitutional Challenge By Placing Solicitor-Client Privilege at Risk
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 237: A Conversation with Jason Woywada of BCFIPA on Political Party Privacy and Bill C-4