Latest Posts

Rogers Provides New Evidence on Effectiveness of Notice-and-Notice System

Bill C-32 looks to be headed for the dustbin if Canada heads into an election this week, but the C-32 committee is still ongoing until someone pulls the plug on the current Parlimentary session. Rogers, Telus, and Bell appeared yesterday and the discussion unsurprisingly focused on the notice-and-notice approach currently used by ISPs and codified within the bill. The notice and notice system involves a notification from a copyright holder – often involving movies, software or music – claiming that a subscriber has made available or downloaded content without authorization on file sharing systems. The ISP forwards the notification to the subscriber but takes no other action – it does not pass along the subscriber’s personal information, remove the content from its system, or cancel the subscriber’s service.

While some rights holders (who the committee learned played a role in establishing notice-and-notice in the first place) have claimed the system is ineffective, Rogers came prepared with evidence about how the system functions and on its effectiveness. It reports that it processed 207,000 notices in 2010, sending those notices to about five percent of its customer base. In other words, 95% of its subscribers are not identified by rights holders as copyright infringers – far from the piracy haven that it often claimed. Of the households that receive notices, only 1/3 receive a second notice. Of those that receive a second notice, only 1/3 of those receive a third notice. 

Read more ›

March 23, 2011 27 comments News

The Truth About Pirates and Profits: A Market Failure, Not Legal One

Trademark and copyright holders frequently characterize piracy as a legal failure, arguing that tougher laws and increased enforcement are needed to stem infringing activity. But my weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) notes that a new global study on piracy, backed by Canada’s International Development Research Centre, comes to a different conclusion. Following several years of independent investigation in six emerging economies, the report concludes that piracy is chiefly a product of a market failure, not a legal one.

Read more ›

March 22, 2011 17 comments Columns

U.S. Paper Says No Decline in New Music In Napster Age

A new paper by Joel Waldfogel, an economist at the University of Minnesota and NBER, finds no evidence that Napster and P2P have resulted in a reduction in recorded music or new artists coming to market.  The study also finds that independent music labels are playing an increasingly important role […]

Read more ›

March 22, 2011 9 comments News

LSE Study Says P2P Should Be Encouraged to Promote Innovation

The London School of Economic Media Policy Project has released a new study that criticizes recent UK reforms for failing to strike the right balance between copyright enforcement and innovation. The report finds that P2P should be encouraged to promote innovative applications and that offering user-friendly, fairly priced services is […]

Read more ›

March 22, 2011 1 comment News

Cdn Heritage Ctee Recommends Excluding Copyright From Trade Deals, Limits on Implementing ACTA

The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage has released its report on CETA and ACTA.  The report, which is based on hearings that featured Minister Peter van Loan, includes a notable recommendation with respect to ACTA implementation and future trade negotiations, including the ongoing Canada – European Union Trade Agreement discussions.  […]

Read more ›

March 21, 2011 4 comments News