Appeared in the Toronto Star on September 1, 2008 as Network Economy Changes the Rules PickupPal, a ride sharing service that operates around the world, recently attracted considerable attention after Trentway-Wagar, a Peterborough-based bus company, raised questions about the legality of the service in Ontario. PickupPal has about 100,000 registered […]
Articles by: Michael Geist
61 Reforms to C-61, Day 50: Education Harms – Lessons Contain Limited Definition of Students
One of the great benefits of distance education and the Internet is the power to extend our traditional notions of a "student body." MIT's Open Courseware Project provides a great example [from column here] Notwithstanding the possibilities, Bill C-61 adopts a very narrow definition of student. Section 30.01(3)(a) states that […]
The Battle Over Internet Filtering
Earlier this week I attended a seminar in Brussels on the "telecoms package" currently before the European Parliament [partial video]. One of the most controversial elements in the package are the prospect for mandated ISP filtering or blocking of allegedly copyright infringing materials. Those requirements would build on other national and international developments including the still-secret Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement and the "three strikes and you're out" policies ("graduated response") in some European countries.
The seminar was illuminating since all of the most vocal stakeholders were in attendance (either as part of the panel or in the audience) and most were pretty transparent about their interests in the issue. I walked away with the following scorecard:
RCMP and Canadian Border Officials Seize Millions in Luxury Goods
The CBC reports that the RCMP and Canadian border officials have seized millions in luxury counterfeit goods, demonstrating yet again that Canadian law is not as powerless as critics suggest when it comes to dealing counterfeit issues.
61 Reforms to C-61, Day 49: Education Harms – Lessons May Require DRM
The conditions attached to the lesson provisions do not end with destroying lessons that use the exemption at the conclusion of the course. There are two provisions that would appear to encourage (or possibly even require) the use of digital rights management to control the further distribution of these lessons. […]
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