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

Copyright

All I Want For Christmas is a Legal TiVo

Appeared in the Toronto Star on November 19, 2007 as All I Want For Christmas Is a Legal TiVo Appeared in the Tyee on November 20, 2007 as Slaves to TV Ads? Michael Powell, the former Chair of the United States Federal Communications Commission, received his first TiVo, a popular […]

November 19, 2007 — Comments are Disabled — Columns Archive

The Access Copyright – Staples Suit: The Statement of Claim

In my first post on the Access Copyright suit against Staples/The Business Depot, I noted that I had not seen the statement of claim and therefore could not comment fully on the case. I have now seen the claim and remain puzzled that Access Copyright is bringing this lawsuit. From a legal perspective, it looks like an almost sure loser – the Supreme Court of Canada ruled on many of these same issues only three years ago and sided strongly against the publishers (who in this case are effectively represented by Access Copyright).

Access Copyright claims that there is both direct and authorized copyright infringement and that it needs both injunctive relief (it would like to shut down Staples/The Business Depot photocopying business) and punitive damages to account for the fact that "the actions of Business Depot have been high-handed, reckless and in blatant disregard of the copyright interests of Access Copyright." So how, according to Access Copyright, has Staples/The Business Depot infringed copyright?

November 18, 2007 — 9 comments — News

Billboard on Canadian Copyright Reform

Billboard/Reuters focuses on the forthcoming copyright reform bill, oddly referring to Canada's Copyright Act that has been amended numerous times – including recording industry requested provisions such as private copying, rental rights, and statutory damages – as "the existing 1921 legislation." The article includes a photo of musicians from the […]

November 18, 2007 — Comments are Disabled — News

CPCC Moves to Strike CRIA Intervention in iPod Levy Case

Earlier this week, I noted that CRIA has submitted its brief in the iPod levy case and that it appeared to ignore the judge's ruling that it limit its argument to the core issue before the court. Apparently, I was not the only one to notice the similarity between CRIA's initial request to intervene and this most recent brief. The CPCC has wasted no time in submitting its own motion to the Federal Court of Appeal asking it to strike out the entire brief. According to the CPCC:

"An examination of CRIA's Memorandum shows that it is nothing more than a condensed version of the representations contained in its motion to intervene. By addressing the seven issues identified in its motion CRIA has blatantly disregarded the ruling of this Court, which ordered that 'CRIA shall address only the three major issues before this Court…"

The CPCC is also furious that CRIA raised issues about the impact of P2P downloading and compliance with the Berne Convention, when there is no evidence on those issues before the court.

November 16, 2007 — 8 comments — News

Access Copyright Sues Staples/The Business Depot for Copyright Infringement

Access Copyright has launched a $10 million lawsuit against Staples/The Business Depot for unauthorized copying by store customers. The copyright collective claims this is the largest lawsuit ever launched over copyright infringement of published works in Canada. Given the high stakes, this is the sort of case that could end […]

November 15, 2007 — 12 comments — News