It has been nearly two months since the Supreme Court of Canada issued its landmark five copyright decisions. In the aftermath of those decisions that provided a strong defense of users’ rights and fair dealing, I have written multiple posts on the implications for education and Access Copyright. These include […]
Latest Posts
Reports Indicate Japan Ratifies ACTA
Reports indicate that Japan has ratified the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. Japan had positioned itself as a leading proponent of the treaty, hosting the final round of negotiations and the official signing a year later.
Putting Some Substance into Canada’s Digital Economy Penske File
Yet despite promises of a strategy by the end of the year, the issue remains the government’s “Penske File”, a source of regular speeches and much “work” but few tangible results (for non-Seinfeld watchers, the Penske file is a reference to a non-existent work project). In fact, with Paradis telling attendees that the government’s role ” is to give our best and brightest the opportunities they need to succeed and then get out of the way” the strategy may be about as ambitious as the character George Costanza was on the Seinfeld show.
My weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) notes that Canadians have waited years for a digital economy strategy. Paradis should dispense with the well-worn cliches and opt for an ambitious plan that generates genuine excitement and broad public support.
The Economist on Canadian Copyright Law
The Economist focuses on new copyright rules for the digital age, rightly pointing to Bill C-11 as “setting a new standard of permissiveness” (though it neglects to mention the restrictive digital lock rules).
How To Address Canadian Media Convergence if Bell – Astral is Approved
The anti-merger campaign, supported by consumer groups as well as several leading cable and telecom companies, has garnered tens of thousands of signatures on an online petition and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission has received more than 1,700 submissions on the deal.
Despite the mounting public opposition, my weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) argues that stopping the $3 billion merger remains a longshot as none of the big three – government, the CRTC, or the Competition Bureau – seems ready to call it off.
Recent Posts
Ignoring the Warning Signs: Why Did the Canadian Government Dismiss the Trade Risks of a Digital Services Tax? 
Why Bill C-2 Faces a Likely Constitutional Challenge By Placing Solicitor-Client Privilege at Risk 
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 237: A Conversation with Jason Woywada of BCFIPA on Political Party Privacy and Bill C-4 
Lawful Access on Steroids: Why Bill C-2’s Big Brother Tactics Combine Expansive Warrantless Disclosure with Unprecedented Secrecy 
Government Reverses on Privacy and the Charter: Department of Justice Analysis Concludes Political Party Privacy Bill Raises No Charter of Rights Effects
