The number of Canadian lawsuits arising from blog postings is on the rise – the Montreal Gazette covers a mushrooming defamation lawsuit launched against Zeke's Gallery, a Montreal art gallery who maintains a blog, while the Ottawa Citizen has coverage of Steelback Brewery's Frank D'Angelo's suit against an Ottawa blogger.
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Behind the Scenes of Canada’s Movie Piracy Bill
With Bill C-59 scheduled for second reading and debate today, my weekly Law Bytes column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) highlights some of the behind the scenes developments that led to Canada's movie piracy bill. Based on documents obtained under the Access to Information Act, the column reveals that Canadian Heritage Minister Bev Oda held a private meeting in Ottawa with Canadian Motion Pictures Distributors Association President Douglas Frith one year before the bill was introduced, at which Frith provided the government with draft legislation – legislation that the lobby group itself had crafted – that likely served as the basis for what is now Bill C-59. Moreover, a briefing note prepared by department officials for Oda in advance of the CMPDA meeting help explain the barrage of lobby pressure on the camcording issue as the Minister was advised that there was little evidence that the industry’s proposal would prove more effective that current Canadian law.
The CMPDA meeting focused on several issues, including counterfeiting and signal theft, yet it was a movie piracy amendment to the Criminal Code that was clearly top of mind.
No IP in Canada’s Latest Free Trade Agreement
Digital Copyright picks up on Canada's latest free trade agreement with the EFTA countries. In sharp contrast to the U.S. approach, a Foreign Affairs release advises that the agreement will not include substantial new obligations on intellectual property.
U of T Seeking Social Media Officer
Mark Evans notes that U of Toronto wants a "go-to person for advice on U of T's online media."
Oda Commits Millions to New Media
Canadian Heritage Minister Bev Oda used the digital media conference at Banff to announce that Ottawa will spend $29 million over the next two years to fund new media.