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Time To Slay the File Sharing Myths

This month marks the tenth anniversary of the debut of Napster, the file sharing service that had a transformative effect on the music and Internet services industries.  While many commentators have marked the anniversary by reassessing Napster’s impact and speculating on what lies ahead, my weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) argues that now is also a suitable time to put to rest two myths about file sharing in Canada.  

There are far more than just two myths (see textbox below), but the ones that have dominated debate is that all file sharing is legal in Canada and, perhaps as a consequence of this, that Canada leads the world in illegal file sharing activity. Neither claim is true.

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June 9, 2009 — 22 comments — Columns

Canada’s Telecom Crisis: My Appearance Before the Senate Transport and Communications Committee

Two weeks ago, I appeared before the Standing Committee on Transport and Communications to discuss the state of telecommunications in Canada.  The committee is conducting a study on the wireless sector and access to high-speed Internet.  The full hearing last over 90 minutes and the transcript has just been posted online.  My opening statement is posted below.

Appearance before the Senate Standing Committee on Transport and Communications
May 26, 2009

Good morning.  My name is Michael Geist.  I am a law professor at the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law, where I hold the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law.  I am also a syndicated weekly columnist on law and technology issues for the Toronto Star and the Ottawa Citizen.  I served on National Task Force on Spam struck by the Minister of Industry in 2004 and on the board of directors of the Canadian Internet Registration Authority, which manages the dot-ca domain name space, from 2000 – 2006.

I appear before the committee today in a personal capacity representing only my own views.  I grateful both for the opportunity to appear before you and for your decision to address this issue.  As you know, Canada was once a global leader in the telecom field.  Companies like Nortel led the world and – befitting a country with our geography – Canada consistently ranked toward the top on most telecom measures. No longer.  While RIM has carved out an important niche and become a household name, the Canadian telecommunications scene is in a state of crisis.  This is no exaggeration.  Following years of neglect by successive governments, the absence of a forward-looking digital agenda, and cozy, uncompetitive environment, we now find ourselves steadily slipping in the rankings just as these issues gain even more importance for commercial, educational, and community purposes.

I know that you are focused primarily on the wireless sector, but I think the problems within our telecommunications infrastructure are not so easily divisible.  I would like to briefly discuss three issues – wireless, broadband access, and net neutrality.

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June 8, 2009 — 26 comments — Committees, News

Trouble With the Board

The Ottawa Citizen ran a lead, masthead editorial over the weekend on the Conference Board of Canada plagiarism story.  The paper notes that "these have been difficult days for the Conference Board" and points out: It is to president Anne Golden's credit that the board did recall the reports. But […]

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June 8, 2009 — 1 comment — News

Pirate Party Success in European Parliament Elections

The Pirate Party, which is focused on digital rights, has enjoyed great success in today's European Parliament elections.  The big news is that the Swedish Pirate Party won 7.1 percent of the national vote, good for at least one seat in the European Parliament (and possibly two seats).  By comparison, […]

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June 7, 2009 — 9 comments — News

Canadian Patent Appeal Board Rules Against Business Method Patents

Catching up from a column last week (Toronto Star version, homepage version), the Canadian Patent Appeal Board recently denied an appeal by Amazon.com over a "one-click" ordering system patent with strong language that challenged the notion that business method patents are patentable under Canadian law.  Business method patents took off in the U.S. in 1998, when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (one notch below the U.S. Supreme Court) ruled that patents could be awarded for business methods in a case called State Street Bank v. Signature Financial Corp.

In the aftermath of the State Street Bank decision, companies rushed to file patent claims for a wide range of business practices.  Amazon.com became the most visible business method patentee with its one-click patent for a service that allows repeat visitors to move directly to the virtual checkout with one click (completing payment and shipping information in the process). The Canadian experience with the Amazon.com one-click business method patent has been much different.  The Canadian Patent Office rejected the application in 2004 based on obviousness and non-statutory subject matter.  Amazon.com appealed to the Canadian Patent Appeal Board.

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June 5, 2009 — 16 comments — Columns
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