Post Tagged with: "priority watch list"

Vancouver Sun on the USTR Special 301 Report

The headline says it all – U.S. Falsely Claims Canada is Lax on Digital Piracy.

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May 6, 2009 Comments are Disabled News

The Blacklist Backlash

Further to my post last week, I have columns today in the BBC and The Mark that discuss why the placement of Canada on the Priority Watch List may backfire.  The BBC piece notes that several European countries – including Italy, Spain, Finland, and Israel – submitted briefs to the […]

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May 5, 2009 11 comments News

A Nation of Pirates?

Last week, I posted a comment suggesting that placing Canada on the Priority Watch List could backfire on the U.S.  I expand on that comment in an op-ed in The Mark, a new Canadian online news site with a Huffington Post feel that launched yesterday.

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May 5, 2009 Comments are Disabled News

U.S. List Unfairly Tarnishes Canada’s Digital Reputation

My weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) focuses on the U.S. decision to elevate Canada to the Priority Watch list.  I note that the elevation will undoubtedly heighten pressure for reforms, it also points to the need for the Canadian government to reassess how it manages the Special 301 process and its bilateral relationship with the U.S. on this issue. In previous years, Canadian officials have done little more than express disappointment with the U.S. findings.  According to documents obtained under the Access to Information Act, the Minister of Foreign Affairs has been repeatedly advised that "Canada does not recognize the Special 301 process due to its lacking of reliable and objective analysis, and we have raised this issue regularly with the U.S. in our bilateral discussions."

Raising the issue in bilateral discussions may have worked in the past, but this year's report sends a clear signal that more is needed.  This year's designation is so unsupportable that Industry Minister Tony Clement and Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore should not hesitate to challenge both the process and the substance of the findings.  

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May 4, 2009 Comments are Disabled Stop CDMCA

U.S. List Unfairly Tarnishes Canada’s Digital Reputation

My weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) focuses on the U.S. decision to elevate Canada to the Priority Watch list.  I note that the elevation will undoubtedly heighten pressure for reforms, it also points to the need for the Canadian government to reassess how it manages the Special 301 process and its bilateral relationship with the U.S. on this issue. In previous years, Canadian officials have done little more than express disappointment with the U.S. findings.  According to documents obtained under the Access to Information Act, the Minister of Foreign Affairs has been repeatedly advised that "Canada does not recognize the Special 301 process due to its lacking of reliable and objective analysis, and we have raised this issue regularly with the U.S. in our bilateral discussions."

Raising the issue in bilateral discussions may have worked in the past, but this year's report sends a clear signal that more is needed.  This year's designation is so unsupportable that Industry Minister Tony Clement and Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore should not hesitate to challenge both the process and the substance of the findings.  

Read more ›

May 4, 2009 4 comments Columns