Archive for February 3rd, 2010

Australian Judge Explains Why Three Strikes Isn’t Reasonable

Australian Internet users are today celebrating a landmark decision in which an Australian court ruled against the film industry in their lawsuit against iiNET, Australia's third largest ISP.  The industry had asked the court to hold the ISP liable for infringing BitTorrent activities of its users.  The court soundly rejected that demand, holding that the ISP could not be seen to have authorized the infringement.

While the authorization analysis is unquestionably the foundation of the decision, there is a detailed, must-read section on subscriber termination schemes, better known as three strikes and you're out (paragraphs 425-442).  In it, Justice Dennis Cowdroy explains why such schemes are far more complicated than is often claimed and are simply not reasonable in many circumstances. 

First, Justice Cowdroy confronts claims that ISPs terminate subscribers for non-payment of accounts, so why not for copyright infringement:

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February 3, 2010 75 comments News

Garneau on a Canadian Digital Strategy

Liberal Industry critic Marc Garneau has published an op-ed on the need for a Canadian digital strategy.  Garneau calls out the lack of action on connectivity, universal access, net neutrality, and intellectual property reform.

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February 3, 2010 Comments are Disabled News

Public Domain Manifesto: Add Your Name Today

Lost amidst the ACTA news last week (on this blog at least) was the launch of the Public Domain Manifesto, a terrific initiative produced by a European group focused on the digital public domain.  Add your name today!

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February 3, 2010 Comments are Disabled News

USTR: ACTA Fears Based on Misconceptions

The USTR won't reveal ACTA, but it claims that fears associated with the still-secret treaty are based on "misconceptions."

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February 3, 2010 5 comments News

German Perspective on ACTA

Spiegel Online runs a lengthy feature on ACTA from a German perspective.

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February 3, 2010 Comments are Disabled News