Michael Geist

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Canada Defends ACTA at WTO TRIPS Council

Canada has defended the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement at the World Trade Organization TRIPS Council.

October 31, 2011 — 2 comments — News

The Problem With Digital Locks

The National Post runs a masthead editorial that tears apart the digital lock rules in Bill C-11, describing the bill as a “flawed piece of legislation” that the government should either kill or amend on its own initiative. It argues: Preventing consumers from playing material that they have paid for, […]

October 28, 2011 — 32 comments — News

Privacy Commissioner of Canada on Lawful Access: Deep Concerns

The Privacy Commissioner of Canada Jennifer Stoddart has written a public letter to Public Safety Minister Vic Toews to express her deep concerns with forthcoming lawful access legislation. Stoddart’s letter notes:

Despite repeated calls, no systematic case has yet been made to justify the extent of the new investigative capabilities that would have been created by the bills. Canadian authorities have yet to provide the public with evidence to suggest that CSIS or Canadian police cannot perform their duties under the current regime. One-off cases and isolated incidents should not prove the rule, nor should exigent or emergency circumstances, for which there are already Criminal Code provisions.

October 28, 2011 — 7 comments — News

The Daily Digital Lock Dissenter, Day 18: Canadian Bar Association

The Canadian Bar Association, which represents 37,000 lawyers, law professors, and students from across the country, released an important submission on Bill C-32. The submission, which was approved as a public statement by both the National Intellectual Property and the Privacy and Access Law Sections of the CBA, did a nice job setting out the debate over Bill C-32 (I was once a member of the CBA’s Copyright Policy section but was not involved in the drafting of the Bill C-32 document).

The CBA submission is notable as a strong counter to the frequent attempts to characterize critics of digital lock rules or other elements of the bill as “anti-copyright.” Far from the claims that there is near unanimity in support of DMCA-style reforms, the CBA submission confirms that the legal experts who work on copyright issues on a daily basis are deeply divided on many issues. While some members supported the digital lock rules, there was a clear divide:

October 28, 2011 — 2 comments — News

Rogers Throttling Complaint Headed to CRTC Enforcement Branch

The ongoing complaint against Rogers by Canadian Gamers Organization against Rogers over its throttling practices is now headed to the CRTC enforcement branch. The precise nature of the enforcement remains unknown.

October 28, 2011 — 1 comment — News