The Pirate Party, which is focused on digital rights, has enjoyed great success in today's European Parliament elections. The big news is that the Swedish Pirate Party won 7.1 percent of the national vote, good for at least one seat in the European Parliament (and possibly two seats). By comparison, […]
Archive for June, 2009
Canadian Patent Appeal Board Rules Against Business Method Patents
Catching up from a column last week (Toronto Star version, homepage version), the Canadian Patent Appeal Board recently denied an appeal by Amazon.com over a "one-click" ordering system patent with strong language that challenged the notion that business method patents are patentable under Canadian law. Business method patents took off in the U.S. in 1998, when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (one notch below the U.S. Supreme Court) ruled that patents could be awarded for business methods in a case called State Street Bank v. Signature Financial Corp.
In the aftermath of the State Street Bank decision, companies rushed to file patent claims for a wide range of business practices. Amazon.com became the most visible business method patentee with its one-click patent for a service that allows repeat visitors to move directly to the virtual checkout with one click (completing payment and shipping information in the process). The Canadian experience with the Amazon.com one-click business method patent has been much different. The Canadian Patent Office rejected the application in 2004 based on obviousness and non-statutory subject matter. Amazon.com appealed to the Canadian Patent Appeal Board.
CIRA Launches WHOIS Consultation
CIRA has launched a public consultation on its new WHOIS rules. The consultation will include some direct consultations, a public forum, and an open consultation this summer.
CRTC New Media Decision: Hands Off The Internet. . . For Now
The CRTC has released its 2009 new media decision (full decision here) and it looks not unlike the 1999 new media decision. Days of hearings, thousands of pages of submissions and the Commission has side-stepped the pressure to "do something," by maintaining its hands-off approach. It concluded that regulatory intervention would get in the way of innovation and that a compelling case was not made that additional support through an ISP levy was needed. Indeed, the decision notes that "the Commission is of the view that parties advocating repeal of the exemption orders did not establish that licensing undertakings in the new media environment would contribute in a material manner to the implementation of the broadcasting policy set out in the Act."
There is at least one very noteworthy change to the new media exemption, however. The CRTC was clearly troubled by allegations of undue preferences being granted by wireless providers (the issue raised by the Weather Network and discussed in this March column). It has therefore proposed amendments prohibiting such practices:
St. Arnaud on the State of Canadian Broadband
CBC's Spark features a full-length interview with Canarie's Bill St. Arnaud on the state of Canadian broadband.
Recent Posts
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 231: Sara Bannerman on How Canadian Political Parties Maximize Voter Data Collection and Minimize Privacy Safeguards 
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 230: Aengus Bridgman on the 2025 Federal Election, Social Media Platforms, and Misinformation 
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 229: My Digital Access Day Keynote – Assessing the Canadian Digital Policy Record 
Queen’s University Trustees Reject Divestment Efforts Emphasizing the Importance of Institutional Neutrality 
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 228: Kumanan Wilson on Why Canadian Health Data Requires Stronger Privacy Protection in the Trump Era
