broadcasting Archives

Communications and copyright: IIC Canada Conference

I had the pleasure of speaking today at the Canadian Chapter of the International Institute of Communications annual conference, held virtually. I spoke chiefly about the following cases and developments:

Bell Media Inc. v. GoldTV.Biz, 2019 FC 1432
Rogers Communications Inc. v. Voltage Pictures, LLC, 2018 SCC 38
Voltage Pictures, LLC v. Salna, 2019 FC 1047
ME2 Productions, Inc. v. Doe, 2019 FC 214
TVB Productions v Doe, Bell Canada, Order Aalto CMJ, March 3, 2020
Bell Canada v.

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Globe and Mail editorial attacks on Canadian creators and broadcasters: what’s up with the Globe?

There was a time you could count on The Globe and Mail to support the Canadian cultural industries and to favour legal frameworks designed to strengthen them. You could also count on the Globe not to be soft on content theft by commercial pirates that harm Canadian businesses and impede their ability to innovate. Recently, however, the Globe has taken one-sided positions opposite the creative community. Worse, it has taken these positions relying on inadequate research and supporting them with inaccurate factual assertions, in some cases by relying on writings of anti-copyright activist Michael Geist.…

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Supreme Court nixes value for signal regime

The Supreme Court released its decision yesterday ruling that the CRTC did not have the power to implement its proposed “value for signal regime”. The decision is a very significant one. First, because it limits the powers of the CRTC under the Broadcasting Act. Second, because it interprets S. 89 of the Copyright Act in a way that, effectively, creates a pre-emption doctrine that limits the powers to create copyright like rights to Parliament.[i]

The value for signal regime would have permitted local television station broadcasters to negotiate compensation for the retransmission of their signals by cable and satellite companies (BDUs).…

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When do broadcasters reproduce works ? The Copyright Board clarifies the law in the Commercial Radio Tariff case

The Copyright Board released its reasons for decision in the Commercial Radio Tariff proceedings last week. The case involved many different parties and issues and resulted in the certification of a tariff that covers a gamut of music uses by broadcasters in the course of their operations.

In the course of giving reasons for its decision, the Board made a number of important statements about what constitutes a reproduction for the purposes of the Copyright Act. In particular, the Board canvassed the activities of broadcasters and examined which activities resulted in reproductions of musical works (and sound recordings) in the course of their broadcasting operations.…

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