Michael Geist

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CIRA’s Opportunity

The Canadian Internet Registration Authority released the results of its board of directors election yesterday and I was very pleased to be elected to the board with the largest number of votes of any candidate. I’m grateful to CIRA members for their support, particularly given the many excellent candidates who […]

September 28, 2012 — 10 comments — News

Copyright Lobby Demands Rollback of Recent Canadian Reforms in Secretive Trade Deal

More than ten years of contentious debate over Canadian copyright law appeared to come to a conclusion in late June when Bill C-11 passed its final legislative hurdle and received royal assent. Yet despite characterizing the bill as a “vital building block”, the copyright lobby that pressured the government to impose restrictive rules on digital locks and tougher penalties for copyright infringement is already demanding further reforms that include rolling back many key aspects of the original bill.

Unlike the last round of copyright reform that featured national consultations and open committee hearings, my weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) notes this time the lobby groups are hoping to use secretive trade negotiations to forge legislative change. Later this week, the International Intellectual Property Alliance, an umbrella organization that represents movie, music, and software associations, will urge the U.S. government to pressure Canada to enact further reforms as part of the Trans Pacific Partnership trade negotiations.

September 24, 2012 — 17 comments — Columns

Warman v. Fournier Copyright Case Appealed

An appeal has been filed in the Warman v. Fournier, a notable federal court copyright case that addressed liability for linking and insubstantial copying. I wrote about the earlier decision here.

September 24, 2012 — 1 comment — News

Setting the Stage for the Next Decade of Open Access

Ten years ago, sixteen experts from around the world gathered in Budapest, Hungary to discuss the how the Internet was changing the way researchers could disseminate their work. The group hatched a plan to “accelerate research, enrich education, share the learning of the rich with the poor and the poor with the rich, make this literature as useful as it can be, and lay the foundation for uniting humanity in a common intellectual conversation and quest for knowledge.”

Their basic idea was simple: the Internet could be used to freely distribute scholarly research so that anyone, anywhere could have access. Called “open access”, the authors of the first Budapest Open Access Initiative identified two ways to enhance public access to research.

September 21, 2012 — 3 comments — Columns

Copyright Board: Supreme Court Copyright Decision is “Clear and Leaves No Room for Interpretations”

The Copyright Board of Canada has ruled that the copies that were at issue before the Supreme Court of Canada (roughly 7% of copies) constitute fair dealing and do not require compensation. The Board’s decision does not come as a surprise given the Supreme Court’s strong endorsement of fair dealing […]

September 20, 2012 — 7 comments — News