Articles by: Michael Geist

Spamigation

Brad Templeton had a very interesting post over the weekend on Dave Farber's list in which he characterized the RIAA lawsuit strategy as an example of spamigation – "bulk litigation that's only become practical due to the economies of scale of the computer era."

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August 22, 2006 Comments are Disabled News

30 Days of DRM – Day 03: Oversight of DRM Misuse (Markets)

Today's installment focuses on the need for an amendment to the Competition Act should Canada introduce anti-circumvention legislation.  The Act should be amended to ensure that the Competition Bureau is not restricted in its ability to bring actions against abusive behaviour stemming from the application of an anti-circumvention provision. 

This argument is a bit technical, but important. 

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August 21, 2006 1 comment News

Statscan Survey Shows Internet’s Potential and Pitfalls

My weekly Law Bytes column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) examines recent Statistics Canada data on Internet use.  The survey found that nearly 17 million Canadians – 68 percent of the adult population – used the Internet for personal non-business reasons last year.  Moreover, almost two-thirds of Canadian adults who […]

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August 21, 2006 1 comment Columns

Statscan Survey Shows Internet’s Potential and Pitfalls

 Appeared in the Toronto Star on August 21, 2006 as Public Sector Should Step in if Private Can't Provide   Canadian Internet policy has long been based on the principle of private sector leadership.  The 2005 Canadian Internet Use Survey, released last week by Statistics Canada, suggests that the approach […]

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August 21, 2006 Comments are Disabled Columns Archive

“Would You Trust These People?”

David Basskin, the head of the CMRRA, commenting on the recording industry as both prepare for a major hearing at the Copyright Board of Canada on online music downloads, has the following to say about the recording industry and the interests of songwriters and music publishers: "Record companies do not […]

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August 20, 2006 2 comments News