The Toronto Fair Copyright for Canada chapter is planning to attend the Bruce Stanton copyright town hall meeting later this month. Details here.
Latest Posts
61 Reforms to C-61, Day 40: TPMs – No Regular Review Process
The U.S. DMCA experience leaves little doubt that the introduction of anti-circumvention legislation will create some unintended consequences. No matter how long the list of circumvention rights and other precautionary measures, it is impossible to identify all future concerns associated with anti-circumvention legislation. The U.S. DMCA addresses this by establishing a flawed tri-annual review process. The system has not worked well, creating a formidable barrier to new exceptions and long delays to address emerging concerns.
As bad as the U.S. system is, the proposed Canadian system under Bill C-61 is worse since there is no mandated review of the exceptions at all. Instead, Canada gets a flexible process that will allow the government to consider new exceptions if and when it sees fit. In other words, the same government that brought you the Canadian DMCA will decide if there is a need to add any exceptions. Section 41.2 (1) provides that:
Langley Times Features Op-Ed on C-61
The Langley Times features an op-ed on the "severely flawed" C-61.
More Culture Funding Cuts Coming
The Globe and Post report that the government is slashing several more arts funding programs, including a small contribution focused on digitizing Canadian sound recordings.
61 Reforms to C-61, Day 39: TPMs – No DRM Labelling Requirement
Supporters of anti-circumvention legislation often dismiss consumer concerns by arguing that "if you don't like DRM, don't buy the product." In other words, no one is forcing anyone to buy products with DRM. Leaving aside the fact that this may not be true – students may increasingly find that they are required to buy electronic texts for their courses that come in DRM-only packages – consumers often don't know that they are buying products with technological restrictions. Most consumers know little if anything about DRMs and the limitations that may be placed on consumer entertainment products such as CDs, DVDs, video games, or digital download services. While there may some limited disclosures – DVDs indicate the region code, if your eyesight is good enough you might notice that some copy-controlled CDs warn on the back corner that they may not play on all computers, and digital download services all feature lengthy user agreements that few consumers will ever read – they are plainly insufficient and the government should not support the legal fiction that "informed" consumers are knowingly purchasing products that contain a host of limitations.
Recent Posts
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 232: What Will Canadian Digital Policy Look Like Under the New Liberal Carney Government? 
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 231: Sara Bannerman on How Canadian Political Parties Maximize Voter Data Collection and Minimize Privacy Safeguards 
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 230: Aengus Bridgman on the 2025 Federal Election, Social Media Platforms, and Misinformation 
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 229: My Digital Access Day Keynote – Assessing the Canadian Digital Policy Record 
Queen’s University Trustees Reject Divestment Efforts Emphasizing the Importance of Institutional Neutrality
