U.S. Senators Patrick Leahy and Arlen Specter, typically associated with increased IP protection, have issued a public letter to the USTR expressing concern about the current direction of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement negotiations.
Articles by: Michael Geist
Coalition Calls for Net Neutrality as an Election Issue
SaveourNet.ca has formed a broad coalition of groups calling for telecom policy to form a bigger part of the current election debate.
CIRA Announces New Board Members
CIRA has announced its newly elected board members. They include Lynne Mackan-Roy, Ross Rader, Tom Williams, Kerry Brown, and Barry Shell. Congratulations to all.
Copyright Pledge Gains Momentum – Green Party and NDP Candidates On Board
Last week, I posted a 2008 election copyright pledge that focused on three commitments for copyright reform – respecting both creators and consumers, ensuring that any reforms do not undermine or weaken user rights such as fair dealing, and committing to full public consultations on any reforms before introducing a bill and inclusive hearings once tabled.
The initial reaction to the pledge has been very strong. I am pleased to advise that the Green Party (as a party) has agreed to the pledge. In addition, the following NDP MPs have added their names as supporters:
- Charlie Angus, New Democrat MP, Timmins-James Bay, ON
- Olivia Chow, New Democrat MP, Trinity-Spadina, ON
- Libby Davies, New Democrat MP, Vancouver East, BC
- Michael Byers, New Democrat Candidate, Vancouver Centre, BC
- Anne Lagacé Dowson, New Democrat Candidate, Westmount, QC
- Phil Brown, New Democrat Candidate, Nepean-Carleton, ON
- John Chan, New Democrat Candidate, Calgary Centre-North, AB
- Tyler Kinch, New Democrat Candidate, Calgary Centre, AB
It is great to see the momentum behind a commitment to fair copyright reform in Canada (and note that Angus has just issued a press release focusing on NDP opposition to C-61). With just under two weeks until the election, there is still time to raise the issue with local candidates. Raise it today in your riding and let me know if you receive any responses. I'll post an updated list next week. The pledge again:
RCMP Criticizes Canadian Copyright Law
Just as reports surface that five Canadian companies have paid over $175,000 in damages arising from copyright infringing software usage [additional coverage here and here], an RCMP corporal has reportedly told a U.S. legal audience that Canadian copyright law is weak, that the way the courts interpret the law is […]
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