Archive for November, 2009

Government To Introduce ISP Child Porn Reporting Bill

Multiple reports this morning indicate that the government plans to introduce a new bill requiring ISPs to report child pornography websites to designated authorities. More on the bill when it is released, but the government is apparently treating this as part of the lawful access package. Further, cybertip.ca already provides […]

Read more ›

November 23, 2009 12 comments News

Broadcaster Plan Involves More Than Just Fee-For-Carriage

Appeared in the Toronto Star on November 23, 2009 as Broadcasters Want More Than Fee For Carriage In the weeks leading to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission hearing on broadcasting licences, Canadians were inundated with splashy advertising campaigns claiming that new fees for local signals were either a TV […]

Read more ›

November 23, 2009 2 comments Columns Archive

NDP, Billy Bragg Make Case For Legalized Downloading

The NDP's Charlie Angus and musician Billy Bragg held a press conference in Ottawa this morning to argue against criminalizing music downloading, instead supporting mechanisms to fully legalize the activity.

Read more ›

November 20, 2009 Comments are Disabled News

OECD Confirms Canada Among Lowest Sources Of Counterfeiting

The OECD has released new data on its global counterfeiting estimates, concluding that the share of counterfeit and pirated goods in world trade is estimated to have increased from 1.85% in 2000 to 1.95% in 2007.  That represents an increase to $250 billion worldwide.  That is obviously a big number, but notably far lower than the claims from ACTA supporters.  Copyright lobby groups have long claimed – without empirical support – that counterfeiting and piracy represents 5 – 7% of global trade.  The OECD data indicates those claims are wildly exaggerated.

This is particularly relevant in Canada where counterfeiting claims have been based on the same faulty data (the international story is similar).  For example, the Chamber of Commerce's IP Council claimed in its report on IP that "it has been conservatively estimated that counterfeiting and piracy cost the Canadian economy $22 billion annually in lost tax revenue, investment and innovation." The source for this claim is a speech by Chamber President Perrin Beatty.  Similarly, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce has argued:

Read more ›

November 20, 2009 13 comments News

MPAA on ACTA

"Outcries on the lack of transparency in the ACTA negotiations are a distraction."

Read more ›

November 20, 2009 6 comments News