Articles by: Michael Geist

The Daily Digital Lock Dissenter, Day 6: Canadian Federation of Students

The Canadian Federation of Students brings together over one-half million students from more than 80 university and college students’ unions across Canada.  The CFS has been vocal on copyright reform and provided the following comments on the digital lock rules:

While C-32 proposes a welcome expansion of fair dealing, the anti-circumvention provisions would prevent users from exercising this and all other rights granted to them by the act in any instance in which a digital lock is present. these provisions would allow corporate copyright owners to freely bypass users’ rights and exercise absolute control over what users are able to do with copyrighted works. these provisions would greatly limit what consumers can do with Cds, dvds, and other purchased media; how media outlets can use videos and other multimedia for news reporting; and how researchers can use media, software, and other copyrighted works in their research.

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October 11, 2011 3 comments News

Why Are Consumers Missing from the CRTC’s Online Video Ruling?

Appeared in the Toronto Star on October 9, 2011 as Why Are Consumers Missing from CRTC’s Online Video Ruling? Earlier this year, the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission launched a consultation into the policy implications of increasingly popular Internet-based video services such as Netflix. The consultation was the CRTC’s response […]

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October 11, 2011 Comments are Disabled Columns Archive

The Daily Digital Lock Dissenter, Day 5: Canadian Teachers’ Federation

The Canadian Teachers’ Federation is a national alliance of provincial and territorial teacher organizations that represent nearly 200,000 elementary and secondary school teachers across Canada. The CTF’s take on digital locks: The Canadian Teachers’ Federation supports amendments to section 41 that would permit users to circumvent technological measures in situations […]

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October 7, 2011 5 comments News

Toope Responds to Access Copyright

UBC President Stephen Toope responds to the widely circulated letter/op-ed by Access Copyright, arguing that the collective’s approach “has been the opposite of good faith negotiations.”

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October 7, 2011 7 comments News

The Daily Digital Lock Dissenter, Day 4: Canadian Council of Archives

The Canadian Council of Archives is Canada’s leading archivist organization, with a mandate “to preserve and provide access to Canadian documentary heritage by improving the administration, effectiveness and efficiency of the archival system.” The CCA’s comments on the C-32 digital lock provisions: Bill C-32 prohibits the circumvention of TPMs for […]

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October 6, 2011 10 comments News