Canadian actors descended on Parliament Hill yesterday to make their case for greater government funding for Canadian television and movie productions. Not the best day to do so, however, since it coincided with the Auditor General' s report on Canadian cultural funding. The report makes for interesting reading as it […]

Fair Dealing by Giulia Forsythe (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/dRkXwP
Copyright
The Lasting Impact of Sony’s Rootkit
My weekly Law Bytes column (Toronto Star version, freely available version, update: the BBC features an internationalized version) examines the controversy surrounding the Sony rootkit and its use of digital rights management. While in the short-term one of the world's best-known brands has suffered enormous damage, the longer-term implications are […]
Sony’s Misleading “Apology”
Facing an onslaught of bad press, Sony today announced that it is suspending its use of the DRM technology that was quickly used by virus writers to infect personal computers. The Sony announcement is being described as an "apology" but the company isn't particularly apologetic. In fact, it prefaces its […]
The Canadian Connection to the Sony Rootkit
The fallout from Sony's digital rights management usage continues. A class action lawsuit has been launched in California, police authorities have been asked to investigate in Italy, and the issue is attracting enormous attention. EFF has revealed that there is a Canadian connection as well. At least two CDs using […]
Broadcasters To Seek Judicial Review of Copyright Board Decision
While the Canadian Association of Broadcasters has expressed a desire to safeguard Canadian culture, paying for that culture is another matter. The Globe and Mail is reporting that the CAB's members will seek judicial review of the recent Copyright Board commercial radio decision which led to a significant increase in […]