Stephen Mihm in the Boston Globe on "what's happening halfway around the world [in China] may be disturbing, even disgraceful, but it's hardly foreign. A century and a half ago, another fast-growing nation had a reputation for sacrificing standards to its pursuit of profit, and it was the United States."
Latest Posts
Wired on the E-stonia Takedown
Wired features a blow-by-blow account on last spring's e-attack on Estonia.
Off the Record
The Prospect features an insightful article into the economics of the recording industry including the growth of performance revenues and the impact of the CD.
Blogging in the Public Sector
An interesting U.S. report on blogging in the public (and corporate) sectors.
The City of Totems
The City of Duncan, British Columbia is a relatively small town of about 5,000 located on Vancouver Island. With 80 totems scattered throughout city, Duncan bills itself as the City of Totems. Duncan has begun to generate some press coverage for adopting a new Totem Copyright Policy which apparently states that the City "holds the copyright policy on the totem collection" and that "the use of the totem images in any form requires approval from the City of Duncan."
As a matter of copyright law, this is seemingly wrong as there is no infringement of copyright for taking pictures of movies of a public sculpture or artistic work. Section 32.2(1)(b) of the Copyright Act provides that:
it is not an infringement of copyright for any person to reproduce, in a painting, drawing, engraving, photograph or cinematographic work a sculpture or work of artistic craftmanship. . . that is permanently situated in a public place of building.
Moreover, the City's claims raise further questions about whether it owns the copyright in the totems.
Recent Posts
Lawful Access on Steroids: Why Bill C-2’s Big Brother Tactics Combine Expansive Warrantless Disclosure with Unprecedented Secrecy 
Government Reverses on Privacy and the Charter: Department of Justice Analysis Concludes Political Party Privacy Bill Raises No Charter of Rights Effects 
“Big Brother Tactics”: Why Bill C-2’s New Warrantless Disclosure Demand Powers Extend Far Beyond Internet and Telecom Providers 
Government Seeks To Exempt Political Parties From Privacy Laws Even As CRTC Reports They Are Leading Source of Spam Complaints 
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 236: Robert Diab on the Return of Lawful Access
