TechCrunch reports that the Counting Crows had ended their relationship with their music label, following frustration over the inability to aggressively use the Internet.
Fair Dealing by Giulia Forsythe (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/dRkXwP
Copyright
WIPO’s Misleading Release
The World Intellectual Property Organization put out a release yesterday trumpeting an eight percent increase in domain name disputes handled by WIPO. In 2008 there were 2329 complaints filed with WIPO, the most ever. WIPO uses the increase to raise questions about the possible increase in the number of available […]
Criticism of NZ Copyright Reforms Continues
Following TelstraClear's criticisms of New Zealand's Section 92a copyright reform, the Auckland District Law Society, Google, and ACT Leader Rodney Hide have chimed in with criticisms of their own.
Canada Favours Early Release of ACTA Text
While the U.S. claims that ACTA documents are a matter of national security and the European Parliament demands greater transparency, it would appear that the Canadian delegation would favour an early release of the draft treaty. According to a confidential November 2008 memorandum that was prepared for Stockwell Day, the Minister of International Trade obtained under the Access to Information Act:
At the upcoming meeting in December 2008, given its commitment to transparency in international trade negotiations, the Canadian delegation plans to argue for a transparent approach. . . This approach would result in an earlier release of the text, which would serve to alleviate domestic concerns about the scope of the agreement and the perceived secrecy surrounding the process. The draft text could then serve as the basis for broad-based public consultations.
Should there be no consensus among the ACTA partners to make the ACTA text public, the Department will need to develop options to address Canadian stakeholders concerns about the lack of transparency in the ACTA process. Department officials will be working with other government departments as well as departmental experts on consultations and communications to develop options for public consultations that would address the issues raised by civil society groups and industry associations. These options would be submitted for your approval.
Notwithstanding the professed interest in transparency, Canada has secretly been a major contributor to the draft text.
U.S. Government Says ACTA a National Security Secret
The U.S. government has denied a freedom of information act request for several Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement documents, invoking a clause that says that the documents are protected as national security secrets. The provision applies in cases where there could be "damage to the national security and the original classification authority […]
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