The Washington Post's Rob Pegoraro has a piece on ACTA, expressing concern about the secret copyright treaty and fears that things may get worse.
Archive for February, 2010
Copyright Reform Commitment Coming in Speech From the Throne?
The National Post's John Ivison writes about the Conservatives' plan to borrow heavily from the 2008 Competition Policy Review Panel in the forthcoming Speech from the Throne. The panel report included recommendations for copyright reform, which focused on the need for balance in rewarding creators and stimulating competition and innovation.
UK Digital Economy Bill Dealt Blow as Minister Resigns
The Guardian reports that the UK government's bid to push the digital economy bill through has been dealt another setback after Siôn Simon, the creative industries minister appointed to pilot the legislation through parliament for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, announced he is resigning an MP.
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:
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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