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Debating Domain Names

It is not often that Members of Parliament engage in debates on domain name policies so yesterday’s extended debate in the House of Commons is worth noting.

The impetus for the debate is the registration by an opponent of same sex marriage legislation of domain names bearing the name of MPs who favour the legislation. The sites are pretty deceptive. For example, the Don Boudria site looks like it could be the MP’s official site with only a disclaimer that it is not the official site.

The legal response to this issue is pretty complex. CIRA’s domain name dispute resolution policy is expressly designed to protect good faith criticism sites. That provision was adopted out of concern for the impact under the ICANN UDRP which has seen many legitimate criticism sites transferred under the questionable claims of cybersquatting.

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June 3, 2005 Comments are Disabled News

Shaw Charging for VoIP Quality of Service Enhancement

Mark Evans of the National Post reports this morning (subscription required) that Primus says that its VoIP offering has been subject to spotty service from Shaw, a leading cable provider in B.C. and Alberta.

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May 31, 2005 1 comment News

File Sharing Decision States the Case For Privacy

My regular Law Bytes column (free hyperlinked version, Toronto Star version homepage version) is the first of a two-part look at the recent Federal Court of Appeal decision involving CRIA's attempt to identify 29 alleged file sharers.

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May 30, 2005 Comments are Disabled Columns

What Part of Do-Not-Call Does the Government Not Understand?

So begins Tyler Hamilton’s devastating article in the Toronto Star on the current state of Canadian do-not-call legislation. Hamilton paints a bleak picture of legislation designed to protect consumers that is being slowly eviscerated by lobbying pressure from charitable groups and the Canadian Marketing Association.

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May 30, 2005 Comments are Disabled News

We’re Number…Five?

The OECD has released global broadband usage rates as of December 2004. This statistic was a matter of pride in Canada for the past several years. While South Korea holds a large lead over the rest of the world, Canadian officials wanted to ensure that everyone knew that Canada was number two.

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May 26, 2005 1 comment News