Michael Geist

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E-commerce and the Law

I’ve been quoted in several news articles this week that highlight interesting e-commerce legal issues

The Wall Street Journal assessed typo pricing on e-commerce sites and the extent to which sites are bound by the errors. I noted that many sites now include provisions that seek to protect them against obvious pricing errors.

April 30, 2005 — Comments are Disabled — News

U.S. Government Objects to Canadian Copyright Reform Plan

The U.S. Trade Representative has issued its annual report on global intellectual property protection, known as the Special 301 Report. Once again, Canada finds itself in good company on the list (a more interesting list would consist of countries who meet the U.S. standard for IP protection).

April 29, 2005 — 1 comment — News

Response to the Net’s Sour Note

The Globe and Mail ran an editorial yesterday in which it expressed strong support for CRIA s file sharing lawsuit appeal. This morning the paper published my letter to the editor. The letter states:

April 26, 2005 — Comments are Disabled — News

Intellectual Property’s Digital Divide

My weekly Law Bytes column (freely available hyperlinked version, Toronto Star version, homepage version) assesses the recent WIPO Development Agenda meeting, pointing to the need to bridge the divide between the United States and the Friends of Development coalition.

April 25, 2005 — Comments are Disabled — Columns

Tariff 22 Continues – SOCAN Seeks 25% Levy on iTunes

My regular Law Bytes column (non-registered version or Toronto Star version, homepage version) highlights the continuing saga of Tariff 22. SOCAN, a leading Canadian copyright collective, recently filed a revised application that targets all websites that communicate music to the public. The tariff proposal includes an astonishing 25 percent of gross revenue for music download services and 15 percent for webcasters. When combined with other tariff proposals, Canada's collectives are seeking at least 40 percent of gross revenues from music download services, representing a far greater threat to the business model than peer-to-peer file sharing.

April 18, 2005 — Comments are Disabled — Columns