Articles by: Michael Geist

Ontario Court of Appeal Rules Domain Names Are Property

The Ontario Court of Appeal has ruled that domain names are property. The decision marks a shift in judicial thinking on the issue, which previously treated domain names as licenses.

August 10, 2011 — Comments are Disabled — News

Dot-ca Domain Dispute Rules Changes Coming This Month

Domain name disputes emerged as one of the first Internet legal issues in the mid-1990s as speculators recognized the value of domain names and the potential to resell them to the highest bidder. The growth of “cybersquatting” led to several unsuccessful attempts to establish a dispute resolution system. Finally, in 1999, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the agency responsible for administering the domain name system, created the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP), which has since resolved tens of thousands of disputed domains.

The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA), which manages the dot-ca domain, adopted its own dispute resolution policy, the CIRA Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (CDRP) in 2002. My weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) notes that using the UDRP as a model, CIRA developed a Canadian version that borrows much of its structure and content from the international approach, yet reflects Canadian law and policy.

August 9, 2011 — 5 comments — Columns

UBC the Latest to Opt-Out of Access Copyright Interim Tariff

UBC has become the latest Canadian university to announce that it is opting out of the Access Copyright interim tariff. The third largest university outside of Quebec (behind only the University of Toronto and York University – York has already announced that it is opting out), UBC notes that it […]

August 9, 2011 — 33 comments — News

Dot-ca Domain Dispute Rules Changes Coming This Month

Appeared in the Toronto Star on August 7, 2011 as New rules for domain disputes Domain name disputes emerged as one of the first Internet legal issues in the mid-1990s as speculators recognized the value of domain names and the potential to resell them to the highest bidder. The growth […]

August 9, 2011 — Comments are Disabled — Columns Archive

Universities Launch Open Access Coalition

A group of 22 universities, including Arizona State, Columbia, Duke, Emory, Harvard, Oregon State, Stanford, and MIT, have launched the Coalition of Open Access Policy Institutions, or Coapi. The coalition includes one Canadian institution – Concordia University.

August 5, 2011 — 1 comment — News