Archive for February, 2010

Conference Board of Canada Releases New IP Report, Backs Away From Prior Recommendations

The Conference Board of Canada has released its long-promised report on intellectual property policy in Canada.  Readers will recall that last spring the Board withdrew three reports funded by copyright groups after admitting that the reports contained plagiarized passages.  In fact, the copyright report recommendations and text were taken directly from the IIPA, the leading copyright lobby in the United States.

The new report, which weighs in at 113 pages, was completed by Ruth Corbin, a Toronto-based IP expert.  Corbin started from scratch, reading a broad range of materials, conducting interviews, and leading a private roundtable on the issue (I participated in the roundtable and met separately with her).  While there is much to digest, the lead takeaway is to marvel at the difference between a report cribbed from lobby speaking points and one that attempts to dig into the issues in a more balanced fashion.  Three examples:

First, the report puts intellectual property policy into perspective as just one portion of the innovation agenda, noting that over-protection can be lead to diminishing returns:

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February 10, 2010 19 comments News

Google To Launch 1 Gig Fibre Broadband Network

Google has unveiled plans to launch experimental fibre broadband networks in several U.S. cities offering one gigabit connections, far beyond what ISPs in North America currently offer.

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February 10, 2010 4 comments News

Telus To Offer DRM-Free Music

Telus has announced that it will become the first Canadian wireless carrier to offer DRM-free music that can be easily moved between devices.

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February 10, 2010 1 comment News

EU Wants Full Access To Canadian Procurement in CETA

Embassy reports on leaked European documents on the latest round of talks in the Canada – EU Trade Agreement.  The documents reveal that the EU is seeking full access to Canadian procurement at the national, provincial, and local levels.  The documents also indicate that a consolidated text is due by […]

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February 10, 2010 2 comments News

Brazil May Target U.S. IP To Retaliate for WTO Violation

Brazil is threatening to ignore U.S. patents in retaliation for WTO violations over cotton subsidies.

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February 10, 2010 3 comments News