The Trans Pacific Partnership, once left for dead after U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from the agreement, is back with negotiations on a TPP11 (the original agreement featured 12 countries) set to resume next week. With reports indicating that dozens of provisions may be suspended, the Canadian government just concluded a public consultation on the issue. My full submission is posted below. It expresses concern with the lack of TPP transparency and provides comments on five substantive areas: dispute settlement, copyright, patents, e-commerce/digital trade, and culture.
Articles by: Michael Geist
NAFTA and the Digital Environment: My Keynote on Striking a Fair Balance on Copyright and Digital Policy
Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to deliver a keynote lecture at American University, Washington College of Law on NAFTA and the digital environment. A video of the talk can be found here (my remarks start just after 11:40) and is embedded below.
Better Marketing and Reduced Spam: New Data Demonstrates that Canada’s Anti-Spam Law is Working
Few Canadian laws have sparked as much animosity from the business community as Canada’s anti-spam legislation (CASL). The law, which took effect in 2014, has faced a barrage of complaints regarding its breadth and cost of implementation. Yet as a House of Commons committee nears the conclusion of a statutorily-mandated CASL review, it has become increasingly clear that the law has worked.
My Globe and Mail op-ed notes that while spam has obviously not disappeared from anyone’s inbox, the law never envisioned eradicating the proliferation of spam, spyware, malware, and other online ills. Rather, new data disclosed at the committee review reveal that Canada is a now a world anti-spam leader, resulting in more effective e-commerce campaigns and a significant reduction in the number of spam organizations operating within Canada.
Access Copyright Calls for Massive Expansion of Damage Awards of Up To Ten Times Royalties
The Canadian government’s consultation on reform to the Copyright Board recently closed and the 60 written responses were just posted online (my response – which focuses on the public interest role of the Board – can be found here). I will have a more fulsome review of the responses in the weeks ahead, but in the meantime one of the most radical recommendations, from Access Copyright, is worthy of comment. The copyright collective has called for a massive expansion of damage awards, seeking a new statutory damages provision that could result in damage awards ten times the size of actual applicable royalties.
The Government’s Role in E-commerce: My Appearance Before the Standing Committee on International Trade
On the same day that I wrote about the overwhelming volume of hearings, notices, and consultations on digital policy, I also appeared before the House of Commons Standing Committee on International Trade to discuss the role of government policy in fostering the growth of e-commerce. The panel included eBay Canada’s Andrea Stairs (who argued for an increase in the de minimis threshold for consumer imports) and Peter Simons, the CEO of the Simons department store chain (who argued for no de minimis and the application of sales taxes on all purchases regardless of the size or location of the seller). My opening remarks centered on five areas for government action on e-commerce: access to affordable broadband, fostering consumer trust, intermediary liability, intellectual property, and e-commerce in trade agreements.
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