This week's announcement from Apple and ABC/Disney about the availability of ABC shows such as Desperate Housewives and Lost as downloads for US$1.99 for the new video-playing iPod has rightly attracted significant attention. This is the first step toward another new market – television shows for virtually immediate download. I […]
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Collectives Win Big at the Copyright Board of Canada
The Copyright Board of Canada this morning issued its decision on royalties for music played on commercial radio stations. The decision is a huge win for the copyright collectives (SOCAN and NRCC) and a corresponding loss for the Canadian Association of Broadcasters. The Board has ruled that the prior tariffs […]
No Excuse to Delay Number Portability
My weekly Law Bytes column (Toronto Star version, freely available version) focuses on the CRTC’s wireless number portability consultation. I argue that while the industry regularly touts the Canadian wireless environment as a highly competitive, world-class market, the truth is that Canada trails badly on the number portability issue. The […]
Australia’s High Court Delivers Some Copyright Lessons for Canada
The Australian High Court today delivered a landmark copyright decision involving "mod chips" and Sony PlayStations. The case goes to the heart of anti-circumvention provisions that create very contentious proposals in Bill C-60 here in Canada. At issue in the Australian case was whether mod-chips, used to modify the Sony […]
IFPI Reports Canadian Music Sales Up in 2005
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), the global recording industry association, has just released its mid-term report for 2005. In addition to the continuing success of the fee-based music download services, the report indicates that Canadian sales are up in 2005. While the increase is not enormous at […]