The Department of Foreign Affairs has posted a questionnaire that seeks Canadian perspectives on the doing business in Europe. It seeks to identify potential impediments, which could include copyright issues (longer copyright term as arose in the IMSLP case, restrictive anti-circumvention rules) for some businesses. The deadline for submission is […]
Post Tagged with: "copyright"
The Friday Forum: Digitizing Books and the Google Book Search Settlement
The potential for a global digital library is increasingly viewed as one of the most exciting opportunities of the Internet age. Countries are working to digitize their works (I wrote four years ago about the possibility of Canada doing so) and the private sector has been active as well. By far the best known – and most contentious – initiative is the Google Book Search initiative. Working with university libraries around the world, Google has been digitizing millions of books. The Google Book Search initiative led to a pair of U.S. lawsuits over whether the plan qualified as fair use, which in turn led to a settlement with implications for authors around the world.
This week's Friday Forum takes a look at the digitizing issue with particular focus on Google Book Search. It starts with Brewster Kahle of the Internet Archive and his vision for building a free digital library. The talked was delivered at the EG Conference in 2007.
Doctorow on Copyright, Critics, and Fans
I'm late with this, but Cory Doctorow recently had a stellar piece in the Guardian on how copyright law protects critics, but not fans.
U.S. Congressional Caucus Places Canada On Another Watch List
Because one unfounded and unsupportable designation as a pirate nation is never enough, the U.S. Congressional International Anti-Piracy Caucus has placed Canada on a watch list alongside China, Mexico, Russia and Spain. This is a separate list from the USTR Special 301 list.
BSA’s Sweden Piracy Stats Entirely Estimated
Computer Sweden reports that the BSA's recent data on piracy in Sweden was entirely estimated. No Swedish companies, vendors, or computer users were apparently contacted as part of the study.
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