The Author:
James Gannon is a lawyer at the firm McCarthy Tétrault. The views expressed here are his own.
Tag Archives: copyright
Bill C-11, “Digital Locks”, and Copyright Reform: What Kind of Business Models Do We Want to Encourage?
Posted by on February 1, 2012
Many arguments over the merits of various copyright reform policies often devolve into a debate over competing “business models”. Copyright reform opponents and abolitionists often argue that amendments to copyright law “preserve outdated business models“, while supporters of progressive reforms argue that they are in fact required to protect emerging models of digital product distribution. [...]
Canadian Hosting Provider Cites Weak Copyright Law to Attract Pirate Websites
Posted by on January 4, 2012
There has been a lot of press lately in the U.S. about their proposed IP enforcement law, the Stop Online Piracy Act (“SOPA”). As I previously noted, when creator groups were asked which websites they intended to target with SOPA’s site-blocking provisions, the groups were clear that legitimate online businesses would be unaffected by the [...]
Why the “digital lock” rules in Bill C-11 will not have any impact on fair dealing in the education community
Posted by on December 12, 2011
Technological protection measures (or “TPMs”) are technologies that protect digital media and control how consumers can use digital products that they purchase. For instance, when you buy e-books from Kobo’s online book store, a TPM controls how that e-book can be copied. The TPM allows you to make copies of the e-book between devices that [...]
5 Steps to Understanding Bill C-11 and “Digital Locks”
Posted by on November 2, 2011
Let’s clear up some of the confusion about copyright law and “digital locks”. If you’ve been reading the press lately on the federal government’s latest attempt to reform Canadian copyright law, then it’s likely you’ve read about the government’s proposed legal protection for “digital locks”. And if you’ve been wondering exactly what a “digital lock” [...]
Bill C-11, Digital Locks and TPMs: A comprehensive guide for Canadian copyright law
Posted by on September 30, 2011
Once again, it seems that the issue of TPMs (or “digital locks”) has become one of the main focus point of the new copyright bill, Bill C-11. And, once again, the reporting on the TPM provisions of Bill C-11, which like the remainder of the Bill remains unchanged from last year’s Bill C-32, is replete [...]
Copyright and privacy reform bills on Notice Paper
Posted by on September 28, 2011
Tuesday afternoon saw bills to amend both the Copyright Act and PIPEDA appear on Parliament’s Notice Paper as Government bills. It is likely both bills will have first reading on Thursday morning. It has already been announced that the copyright reform bill (Bill C-11?) will be unchanged from last Parliament’s Bill C-32. Will the privacy reform bill (Bill C-12?) [...]
The Supreme Court of Canada Copyright Tariff Pentalogy
Posted by on September 10, 2011
There is little doubt that 2012 will be a ground-shaking year in Canadian copyright law. Last week, Heritage Minister James Moore announced that the Conservative government would be introducing a copyright bill in the fall. The bill could be passed as early as this winter and come into force some time in 2012. Also last week, the Supreme [...]
Getting it Right with Cyberlockers and Safe Harbours
Posted by on August 30, 2011
Michael Robertson runs a pair of websites that are clearly designed to help users build libraries of illegally copied music files. Of course, his websites don’t fly pirate flags on the front page or openly mock content owners who ask that their works be taken down like The Pirate Bay, but expert witnesses in his website’s [...]
U.S. ISPs and Content Providers Introduce Copyright Alert System
Posted by on July 7, 2011
Some of the largest American movie, music, television studios have reached a framework agreement with the leading U.S. ISPs on the implementation of a “Copyright Alert System” which would notify ISP subscribers of instances where their Internet account is being used to download illegal content. The agreement also contemplates sanctions against Internet accounts that repeatedly ignore such warnings [...]
Government of Ireland Invites Feedback on Draft Copyright Regulations
Posted by on June 23, 2011
The Government of Ireland, Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, has published draft regulations to be included in the Irish Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000. The regulations, drafted in response to the EMI Records (Ireland) v. UPC Communications Ireland Ltd. decision from last year, would grant copyright holders the ability to apply for injunctions [...]
