Michael Geist

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30 Days of DRM – Day 13: Criticism, Review and News Reporting (Circumvention Rights)

Yesterday's posting covered the research and private study side of fair dealing. The other major component of the fair dealing user right is contained at Sections 29.1 and 29.2 of the Copyright Act, covering criticism, review, and news reporting. Both sections permit fair dealing in a work for those purposes provided that the source is identified. These user rights are equally an integral part of the Copyright Act and should not be unduly constrained.

Indeed, with the emergence of citizen journalism and user generated content, these rights have assumed even greater importance.

August 31, 2006 — 3 comments — News

Sony Settles Canadian Class Actions over Rootkit

Jeremy deBeer reports that Sony BMG Canada has settled several Canadian class action lawsuits over the inclusion of the rootkit in dozens of CDs. The settlement, which must still be approved by a Canadian court, features similar terms to those found in the U.S., including the right to cash compensation […]

August 31, 2006 — Comments are Disabled — News

30 Days of DRM – Day 12: Research and Private Study (Circumvention Rights)

Section 29 of the Copyright Act contains one of the most important user rights in Canadian copyright law – fair dealing for the purpose of research or private study does not infringe copyright. For many years, this provision was narrowly defined such that the education and library communities adopted relatively conservative approaches to defining what constituted fair dealing. In recent years, however, Canada has experienced a dramatic shift in the vibrance and importance of fair dealing. In a trio of cases, the Supreme Court of Canada strongly affirmed the need for balance in Canadian copyright law. The shift began in the Theberge, where Justice Binnie, in discussing the copyright balance, stated that:

August 30, 2006 — Comments are Disabled — News

Major Record Labels Adopt ACS

The online community is buzzing today over the announcement that Universal Music plans to "give away" music online through a new service called SpiralFrog (which is also negotiating with other major labels including EMI). The approach is not particularly innovative – the service will be ad-supported, something people like Terry McBride from Nettwerk has been advocating for months and other sectors (television, radio, online gaming, newspapers) have been offering for some time. Moreover, the service is likely to face some challenges – by relying on DRM that is not compatible with the iPod, it is leaving out a large part of the market.

That said, there are at least two bigger points worth making.

August 29, 2006 — 5 comments — News

30 Days of DRM – Day 11: Involuntary Installation of Software (Circumvention Rights)

Yesterday's post addressed the negative impact of anti-circumvention legislation on security research. There is another security issue that merits discussion – the involuntary installation of software that may constitute a personal security threat to individual computer users. Such software is frequently classified as spyware – software programs that are placed on users' computers without their informed consent that proceed to cause havoc by compromising personal information, posing an identity theft risk, sending spam, and infecting other computers.

While spyware can worm its way onto a personal computer in many different ways, inclusion within a DRM is a possibility. The best-known example of the DRM-spyware connection is last year's Sony rootkit fiasco.

August 29, 2006 — 6 comments — News