Barry Sookman

Copyright, Intellectual Property, Computer, Internet, e-Commerce Law.

Archive for May, 2009

Anti-Spam Bill Webinar

May 28th, 2009

McCarthy Tétrault recently hosted a webinar on Bill C-27, the Electronic Commerce Protection Act (ECPA), Canada’s proposed legislation to curtail spam and spyware. Partners Barry Sookman, Charles Morgan and Lorne Salzman discussed some of the issues with the current bill and its implications for Canadian businesses.

Barry Sookman outlined the objectives of the bill and discussed the anti-spam provisions, noting the broad prohibition against sending unsolicited commercial electronic messages in terms of the technology affected and the content captured. He observed that Bill 27, unlike anti-spam legislation in other jurisdictions, is not limited to messages sent with some element of fraud or misleading information, sent with an “intent to deceive or mislead,” sent to addresses that were gathered using “automated means,” or sent in bulk. Barry also provided some surprising examples of types of communications that might be classified as “spam” under the legislation, as currently drafted.

This is a preview of Anti-Spam Bill Webinar. Read full post.

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Posted in Presentations

Tags: barry sookman personal information protection

Developments in Computer, Internet and E-Commerce Law (2008-2009)

May 19th, 2009

Presentation given at the Toronto Computer Lawyers’ Group and IT & E-Commerce Section of Ontario Bar Association, on May 19, 2009 in Toronto.

http://www.mccarthy.ca/pubs/TCLG_May_2009_from_2009_Supplement_.pdf

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Posted in Copyright, E-commerce, Presentations, Privacy, Trade Marks

Tags: barry sookman Copyright E-commerce Patents trademarks

Anti-Spam Bill Raises Concerns

May 12th, 2009

On May 8, 2009, the Electronic Commerce Protection Act (ECPA) received a second reading in the House of Commons. The Government of Canada had introduced the bill on April 24^th. The intention of the ECPA is “to deter the most dangerous forms of spam, such as identity theft, phishing and spyware, from occurring in Canada” and to “help drive spammers out of Canada.” The bill also contains provisions intended to combat spyware by prohibiting the installation of computer programs without the consent of the computer’s owner. While the objective of the legislation is laudable, the bill’s overly broad language could circumscribe legitimate business-to-business marketing and impact software companies’ ability to deliver upgrades and patches to customers. Section 6(1) of the ECPA states that “No person shall send or cause or permit to be sent to an electronic address a commercial electronic message unless (a) the person to whom the message is sent has consented to receiving it, whether the consent is express or implied; and (b) the message complies [with specified formalities].” Unlike other international anti-spam legislation, the prohibition against unsolicited commercial messages in the ECPA is not limited to messages sent with some element of fraud or misleading information, sent with an “intent to deceive or mislead,” sent to addresses that were gathered using “automated means,” or sent in bulk.