Archive for September 19th, 2011

Hurt Locker File Sharing Lawsuits Put the Hurt on Everyone

File sharing lawsuits involving the movie the Hurt Locker have been big news in the United States for months as tens of thousands of lawsuits have been filed against individuals alleged to have illegally downloaded the movie. The lawsuits have now made their way into Canada as the Federal Court of Canada has ordered the identification of subscribers at Bell Canada, Cogeco, and Videotron who face similar copyright infringement claims.  

Late last month the court ordered the three ISPs to disclose the names and addresses of subscribers linked to IP addresses alleged to have copied the movie. The ISPs complied last week as lawyers for the Hurt Locker copyright owner moved to have their case treated as a “specially managed proceeding” that would put the case on a rocket docket.

My weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) argues the lawsuits hurt seemingly everyone.

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September 19, 2011 67 comments Columns

CRTC Tells Rogers To Stop Slowing Down Speeds of Online Games

The CRTC has written to Rogers giving just over a week to address ongoing concerns that its throttling practices are slowing down online gaming in violation of the Commission’s Internet traffic management practices.  The Commission plans to release new guidance on these complaints this week.

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September 19, 2011 Comments are Disabled News

The Cost of Copyright Term Extension

Last week, the European Council passed copyright term extension for sound recordings, extending the term from 50 to 70 years. Martin Kretschmer, a UK professor, notes that the cost of the extension will exceed one billion euros to the general public. Seventy-two percent of the revenues will go to record […]

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September 19, 2011 3 comments News

Omnibus Crime Bill Coming on Tuesday

The government’s omnibus crime bill is on the order paper and will apparently be tabled on Tuesday. The bill will be closely watched to see if it includes the controversial lawful access provisions.

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September 19, 2011 5 comments News

Hurt Locker File Sharing Lawsuits Put the Hurt on Everyone

Appeared in the Toronto Star on September 18, 2011 as Hurt Locker File Sharing Lawsuits Put the Hurt on Everyone File sharing lawsuits involving the movie the Hurt Locker have been big news in the United States for months as tens of thousands of lawsuits have been filed against individuals […]

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September 19, 2011 Comments are Disabled Columns Archive