Michael Geist

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The Daily Digital Lock Dissenter, Day 36: Canadian Political Science Association

The Canadian Political Science Association began its activities in 1912 and was incorporated under the Canada Corporation Act in 1971. The CPSA limits public policy positions to those issues directly related to political science. As part of the 2009 copyright consulation, the CPSA submission made its position on digital locks clear:

The new law should not allow Digital Rights Management technologies to prevent fair use of published work.

November 23, 2011 — Comments are Disabled — News

Ottawa Weighs Loosening Ownership Rules in Telecom Sector

The Globe reports that the government is considering changes to the foreign ownership restrictions in the telecom sector by removing restrictions for companies with less than 10 percent market share.

November 23, 2011 — 2 comments — News

Canadian Anti-Counterfeiting Group Calls For Graduated Response, More Restrictive Digital Lock Rules

The Canadian Anti-Counterfeiting Network is back in the news today with a refreshed version of its 2007 report that recommended new border measure powers, legal reforms, and a massive increase of public tax dollars for enforcement and education programs. Many of those same recommendations are back with claims that the government should pour millions into anti-counterfeiting activities, increase criminal penalties, expand seizure powers, and ratify the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement.

On the Bill C-11 front, the CACN wants to gut many of the balancing provisions, including limiting the scope of the already overly restrictive digital lock exceptions, dropping the ISP notice-and-notice approach in favour of a graduated response that could lead to terminating Internet service for individual users, and removing the distinction between commercial and non-commercial infringement for statutory damages despite the fact that Canada is one of the few countries to have such damage provisions (which would pave the way for more Hurt Locker style lawsuits against individuals).

November 22, 2011 — 9 comments — News

Napster Drops Out of Canada, Warns Users Of Lost Purchases Due to Digital Locks

Napster Canada has advised its customers that it is shutting down operations effective December 16, 2011. The move comes weeks after Napster US became part of Rhapsody and users were assured that Canadians would be unaffected by the move. The company warns users to create backup copies of downloaded music […]

November 22, 2011 — 15 comments — News