My colleague Jeremy deBeer has been the leading voice questioning whether anti-circumvention legislation – the legal protection for DRM that is often described as "para-copyright" – is constitutional, given that the potential rules arguably involve property rights (which falls under provincial jurisdiction) far more than traditional copyright (a federal matter). […]
Post Tagged with: "copyright"
Japan To Propose Novel Approach to Online Video
Variety reports that Japan's IPR Policy Working Group is proposing a novel change to that country's copyright law with respect to online video. The Group is proposing that Internet distribution of previously broadcast television shows will no longer require permissions from all rights holders. Instead, they need only to ensure […]
Museums and the Public Domain
The Associated Press has picked up on a story involving public access to images in the Smithsonian Institution. Public.Resource.Org has posted 6,288 images currently sold by the Smithsonian on Flickr (a book of the images can be downloaded for free from Lulu.com), arguing that the U.S. institution is overreaching by claiming copyright or control over images that are in the public domain.
The issue is an important one that should also resonate in Canada. Some readers may recall the battle between a small school division in Manitoba and the National Gallery of Canada over fees levied for a public domain Paul Kane painting. In the wake of that incident, I've been working with some students to identify how Canadian museums address access to public domain works in their collections. The research is not yet complete, however, the preliminary news is not good.
Museums are strapped for cash and therefore use their physical control over images to levy fees over public domain works. While a cost-recovery fee for digitization or administration is understandable, many institutions go much further charging "surrogate copyright fees" or "user's fees" for public domain works or deploy technology to limit the potential uses of digitized versions of those works.
For example, consider Emily Carr, whose work entered the public domain in 1996.
A Fair(y) Use Tale
A must-see video on copyright and fair use.
Missing Mobilization
The Conservative government unveiled its science and technology strategy [pdf] titled Mobilizing Science and Technology to Canada's Advantage on Thursday in Waterloo, Ontario. The lengthy document represents a missed opportunity for open access as the strategy raises issues that are directly relevant but fails to take the plunge. For example, it emphasizes enhanced accountability and responsiveness of the three federal granting councils, yet focuses on internal management issues, rather than on research dissemination. The strategy also includes increased efforts to transfer technology from Canadian universities to the private sector. Once again, there is an opportunity to consider open access approaches, however, the strategy instead commits to a review that "will include an assessment of whether a new approach to intellectual property management of university research is warranted." While neither of these statements preclude open access, a more explicit commitment would have given the issue some real momentum.
It is also worth noting that patent and copyright reform receive attention, with the government focusing on the need for a modern IP regime that balances incentives with access:
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