Michael Geist

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CRTC Launches Consultation on Over-the-Top Video Providers

The CRTC has launched a “fact-finding exercise” on over-the-top video providers such as Netflix. The Commission is focused on their impact on Canadian broadcasting system. Comments are due by June 27, 2011.

May 26, 2011 — 7 comments — News

Access Copyright Stops Pay-Per-Use Digital Licensing

Earlier this year, Access Copyright won a Copyright Board decision that granted a new interim tariff for post-secondary education institutions. This is the first of three posts that examine the aftermath of that decision, the current economics behind Access Copyright, and the challenges the copyright collective faces over the long haul. The interim licence, which effectively sought to maintain the status quo as the copyright collective and educational institutions sort through the Access Copyright demand for a massive increase in its current tariff structure, provided the collective with a potential continued revenue stream and delayed what appeared to be a near-universal decision among Canadian universities to drop the Access Copyright licence altogether.

While some were surprised that the educational institutions did not seek judicial review of the Copyright Board decision, I suspect that many institutions came around to the view that the interim tariff was helpful in the short-term. Many institutions were facing faculty not ready to shift away from the Access Copyright licence in January 2011. The interim tariff bought them time to complete the transition. That transition now appears to begin as soon as September 2011 as universities prepare for an alternate approach based on five key sources of materials:

May 25, 2011 — 37 comments — News

Retail Council Calls for Scrapping Private Copying Levy

The Wire Report reports that the Retail Council of Canada is calling on the government to scrap the private copying levy in the aftermath of the CPCC demand to create a levy on memory cards. The CPCC’s David Basskin argues eliminating the levy would “recriminalize making private copies” but that […]

May 25, 2011 — 6 comments — News

Search Engine on Lawful Access

Search Engine examines the problems with lawful access in this week’s episode, which features an interview with Micheal Vonn of the BCCLA.

May 25, 2011 — 2 comments — News

Canadian Broadcasters and BDUs: Can They Compete With “Free”?

Earlier this month, Bell and Quebecor, two giants in the Canadian broadcasting and telecom landscape, became embroiled in a dispute over Sun News Network, the recently launched all-news network. At first glance, the dispute appeared to be little more than a typical commercial fight over how much Bell should pay to Quebecor to carry the Sun News Network on its satellite television package. When the parties were unable to reach agreement, Bell removed Sun News Network, leaving a placeholder message indicating “the channel has been taken down at the request of the owners of Sun News Network.”

While the dispute is now before the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission – Quebecor claims Bell is violating the legal requirement against “undue preferences”- more interesting is Bell’s claim about the value of Sun News Network signal.

According to Mirko Bibic, senior vice-president of regulatory affairs at Bell Canada, the market value of Sun News Network is zero because Quebecor makes the signal available free over-the-air in Toronto and is currently streaming it free on the Internet. Given the free access, Bell maintains that the signal no longer has a market value.

My weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) notes Bibic’s comment may be posturing for negotiation purposes, but it highlights the larger problem for Canadian broadcasters and broadcast distributors such as cable and satellite providers.

May 24, 2011 — 33 comments — Columns