Margaret Atwood comments on the Harper culture cuts with language strikingly similar to that employed by user groups arguing for fair copyright: Human beings are creative by nature. For millenniums we have been putting our creativity into our cultures – cultures with unique languages, architecture, religious ceremonies, dances, music, furnishings, […]
Latest Posts
VANOC Seeks to Trademark Part of O’Canada
When the Canadian government introduced overbroad and unnecessary legislation to protect Olympic marks, the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee claimed that the legislation was necessary to guard against ambush marketing. Fresh off that legislative win, VANOC is now going for more gold. The Globe and Mail reports that it has applied […]
Conservatives Promise Anti-Spam Legislation
After sitting on the issue for two and a half years in government, the Conservatives today promised to introduce anti-spam legislation along the lines of that recommended by the National Anti-Spam Task Force in 2004. As a member of that task force, this is welcome news, though it is difficult […]
Bell Planning to Interfere With GPS?
Several readers have pointed to a blog posting at Wellington Financial that reports that Bell is planning to interfere with the GPS signal of late-model Blackberry units. Users will reportedly experience long delays in establishing a GPS connection when using free mapping applications like Google Maps. Bell offers a competing […]
Canada Risks Missing Out on Open Access Momentum
My weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) focuses on open access in Canada. Last week, Liberal leader Stephane Dion committed to substantial increases to Canada's federal research funding in a major speech on education and research at the University of Western Ontario. The Liberal promise – which comes on the heels of increased Conservative support for the federal research granting councils in the 2008 budget – reflects a growing all-party emphasis on the link between research support and economic performance. While the research and business communities will undoubtedly welcome the increased financial commitment, it is worth contrasting the Canadian emphasis on more spending, with the Australian approach on greater access to the research itself. Australian Senator Kim Carr, who serves as the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, recently committed to "promote the freest possible flow of information domestically and globally."
Recent Posts
What Is the Canadian Government Doing With Its Incoherent Approach to TikTok? 
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 240: Dean Beeby on Why Canada’s Language Laws May Stop Government From Posting Access to Information Records Online 
Risky Business: The Legal and Privacy Concerns of Mandatory Age Verification Technologies 
Another Canadian Digital Policy Own Goal: Corporate TikTok Ban Leads to Millions in Lost Cultural Group Support 
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 239: The Rise and Fall of Canada’s Digital Services Tax
