Fair Dealing by Giulia Forsythe (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/dRkXwP

Fair Dealing by Giulia Forsythe (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/dRkXwP

Copyright

Google, Yahoo Concerned About Bill C-32’s Enabler Provision

The Wire Report reports (sub required) that Google and Yahoo are concerned with the “enabler” provision in Bill C-32.  The provision is designed to target sites that facilitate but the search engines fear it could have unintended consequences.

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August 30, 2010 1 comment News

Next ACTA Round To Be Vice-Ministerial Level Meeting

The Japanese media is reporting that the next round of ACTA negotations in Tokyo will be a Vice-Ministerial level meeting, providing further confirmation that countries expect to conclude the agreement at the late September meeting.

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August 27, 2010 3 comments News

“Legislative Guidance” on Fair Dealing: The Plan to Reverse CCH?

My post this week on several writers groups objections to Bill C-32 has generated considerable discussion, with some taking me to task for focusing on their letter’s warning of “unintended consequences,””years of costly litigation,” and “serious damage to the cultural sector.”  Instead, they argue that I should have focused on the call for additional “legislative guidance” on the fair dealing reforms.  After all, who could be against greater clarity in the law?

In the discussion that has followed, I believe that it has become increasingly clear that the “legislative guidance” is not really about the fair dealing reforms found in C-32, but rather fair dealing more generally. Unfortunately, the writers’ letter only speaks of their concerns and does not provide any specific policy or legislative reform recommendations that would clarify their intentions. However, with the government having opened up the fair dealing provision, those groups may see an opportunity to reverse the Supreme Court of Canada’s CCH decision that characterized fair dealing as a user right and established guidelines for its interpretation. 

Why do I arrive at this conclusion?

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August 27, 2010 141 comments News

Has the U.S. Caved on Secondary Liability in ACTA?

Following the ninth round of ACTA negotiations in Lucerne, Switzerland in July, it became apparent (after the updated ACTA leaked) that the U.S. had caved on some of its demands to include DMCA-like anti-circumvention language in ACTA.  The ACTA provisions still go further than the WIPO Internet treaties by mandating […]

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August 26, 2010 8 comments News

Estimating the Economic Impact of Google Book Search

A new article forthcoming in the prestigious Journal of the Copyright Society of the USA attempts to estimate the economic impact of Google Book Search on the publishing industry.  The study finds no evidence of negative impact and some evidence of a positive impact.

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August 26, 2010 Comments are Disabled News