Archive for April, 2012

French Circumvent Twitter Ban on Election Results

The NY Times reports on how Twitter users in France circumvented a law prohibiting the early publication of election results over the weekend. Canadians faced a similar ban during the last election, but the government has since announced plans to change the law.

Read more ›

April 24, 2012 4 comments News

Backlash Against Academic Publishing Continues to Grow

The backlash against the current academic publishing continues to grow, with the Harvard Library’s Faculty Advisory Council finding that “large journal publishers have made the scholarly communication environment fiscally unsustainable and academically restrictive” and promoting open access alternatives. Meanwhile, the Guardian featured an article on the issue over the weekend, […]

Read more ›

April 24, 2012 Comments are Disabled News

Other People’s Money: Why AUCC Signed the Most Expensive Copyright Insurance Policy in Cdn History

Appeared in the Toronto Star on April 22, 2012 as The most expensive copyright insurance policy in Canadian history Car rental companies are infamous for encouraging customers to sign up for expensive liability insurance policies. Since many renters already have coverage from their own automotive insurance policies or can rely […]

Read more ›

April 24, 2012 Comments are Disabled Columns Archive

Public Safety Links Telecom Foreign Investment with Lawful Access

Last week, I posted on the Public Safety Canada seeming attempt to circumvent the government’s spectrum consultation by submitting dual letters – a public letter expressing mild concern with foreign ownership and a secret letter warning of “considerable risks”. While that approach raises serious concerns that undermine public confidence in the consultation process, Public Safety’s detailed response (which is available on the Industry Canada site) anticipates the fight over Bill C-30 by specifically claiming that opening the Canadian telecom sector to foreign competition increases the necessity of lawful access legislation:

Read more ›

April 23, 2012 1 comment News

Kenya High Court Rules Anti-Counterfeiting Statute Unconstitutional

Kenya’s High Court has ruled that the Kenya Anti-Counterfeit Act of 2008 violates that country’s constitution because it threatens access to life-saving generic medicines. The law includes a very expansive definition of counterfeiting, which raises serious concerns among access to medicines groups.  The Constitutional Court of Kenya had previously barred […]

Read more ›

April 23, 2012 2 comments News