The Globe has a terrific masthead editorial today that notes the failure of big pharmaceutical companies to live up to their research and development commitments. It notes that those same companies are now demanding further IP reforms as part of the Canada – EU Trade Agreement.
Archive for June, 2012
Waterloo Latest University to Reject Access Copyright Model Licence
The University of Waterloo has become the latest university to announce that it will not sign the Access Copyright model licence. The announcement comes as Queen’s University holds a community consultation on whether to sign the licence.
The IP Lobby’s Post-Bill C-11 Playbook: ACTA, SOPA, Warrantless Search and the Criminalization of IP
This long post reviews the report, focusing on the case it makes for addressing counterfeiting concerns in Canada and on the resulting recommendations. The recommendations are divided into five main groups:
- Introduce a Canadian SOPA
- ACTA Implementation
- New Search Powers Without Court Oversight
- The Criminalization of Intellectual Property
- Massive Increase in Public Spending Creating an IP Enforcement Subsidy
Recording Industry Data Shows Canada a Global Leader For Paid Digital Downloads
The most obvious metric (and one relied upon by IFPI) is paid digital music downloads. According to the IFPI data, Canadians purchased 94.2 million single track downloads in 2011, making it the third largest market in the world (trailing only the U.S. and UK). The Canadian numbers represented a 39% increase in sales, far ahead of the U.S. (8% growth) and U.K. (10% growth). The data shows Canadians purchased more single track downloads than Germany or Japan, and more than double the sales in France, despite the fact that each of those countries has far larger populations. In fact, Canadian sales were larger than all the sales from Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden combined. Moreover, given the current growth rates, Canada seems likely to pass the U.S. on per capita single track downloads in about 18 months (not coincidentally iTunes entered the Canadian market 18 months after it debuted in the U.S.).
CRTC Chair Calls Out Bell Canada For Failing on Rural Broadband Commitments
CRTC Chair Len Katz called out Bell Canada and Bell Aliant yesterday for failing to extend broadband to dozens of rural communities across the country as required by a 2010 decision. Katz noted that in August 2010 the Commission directed the large phone companies to spend over $420 million from […]