Archive for May, 2008

Copyright Letter to the Editor in the Citizen

A former Conservative organizer speaks out.

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May 28, 2008 2 comments News

Canadians Stuck With Analog Rights in a Digital World

My weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, Ottawa Citizen version, Vancouver Sun version, homepage version) notes that earlier this month, some fans of the NBC television programs American Gladiators and Medium found themselves unable to digitally record the shows on their personal computers.  The reason for the blocked recordings raises important technical and legal questions about the rights of consumers to "time shift" television programs in the digital era. The blocked recordings affected people that record television programs on their personal computers using the Microsoft Windows Vista Media Centre.  Most people are unaware that Microsoft has inserted a feature that allows a broadcaster or content owner to stop the digital recording of a show by triggering a "broadcast flag" that specifies its preference that the show not be recorded.  When the user tries to record it, Microsoft’s software recognizes the flag and issues a warning that the program cannot be recorded.

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May 28, 2008 10 comments Columns

The CBC’s Terms of Use

InsidetheCBC focuses on the CBC's terms of use for submitting content, raising important questions about the breadth of the provisions (thanks Joe!).

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May 28, 2008 4 comments News

Angus to Introduce Net Neutrality Bill

The CBC reports that hundreds of people attended the net neutrality on Parliament Hill and NDP MP Charlie Angus announced that he plans to introduce a Private Member's bill addressing the net neutrality issue tomorrow.

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May 27, 2008 3 comments News

CBC and Globe Cover Mounting ACTA Concern

CBC's Search Engine blog and the Globe and Mail's Mathew Ingram add their voices to the mounting concern over government's copyright plans both domestically and on the international front.

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May 27, 2008 Comments are Disabled News