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Reflections on the liberal roundtable on the digital economy

February 17th, 2010

Last week, Liberal Industry critic Marc Garneau and Heritage critic Pablo Rodriguez hosted a roundtable on the digital economy in Ottawa. There were two panels. One was on our modern digital infrastructure. The other one was on copyright, broadcasting and the Internet. I participated in the copyright roundtable along with representatives from the ESAC, ACTRA, Rogers and Prof. Geist.

I commend Messrs. Garneau and Rodriguez for organizing this event. Developing a strategy for Canada’s digital future is a critical component of ensuring prosperity and opportunities for all Canadians.

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Posted in Copyright, Digital Britain, Fair Dealing, Fair Use, Graduated Response, ISP Liability, Piracy, Presentations, TPMs, Three Strikes, WIPO Treaties

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How can copyright reform best balance the rights of creators, intermediaries and users?

February 11th, 2010
Here is a digital version of the article published in the February issue of the CBA National magazine. The following question was posed to  Prof. Geist and myself. My answer is set out below.

With a view to positioning Canada as a leader in the global digital economy, how can copyright reform best balance the rights of creators, intermediaries and users?

Copyright has become an emotional topic in Canada in which everyone has a stake. Authors’ livelihoods depend on it. Rights holders need clear, predictable, and fair rules that support creativity and innovation. The public needs access to books, music, art, software and other creative products, all of which are vital to our culture and values.

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Posted in Articles, Copyright, Fair Dealing, Fair Use, Graduated Response, ISP Liability

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The fallout from iiNet: markets and laws failing in face of net piracy

February 8th, 2010

Last week the Federal Court of Australia released its important decision in the iiNet case. As many commentators have pointed out, the court declined to require Australia’s ISPs to disconnect those of its subscribers who are repeat copyright infringers.

In the course of reaching this decision, the court made a number of important rulings about the liability arising from the use of BitTorrent networks including the following:

  • Seeders and peers that make music available for sharing are infringers under Australia’s making available right.
  • The transmission of copyright files as part of a BitTorrent swarm constitutes a transmission (communication) to the public by participants in the stream and is infringing.
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Posted in Copyright, Graduated Response, ISP Liability, Piracy

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Debating graduated response at the Center for Democracy and Technology

February 5th, 2010

The US Center for Democracy and Technology recently hosted a debate about the pros and cons of graduated responses systems. The debate can be seen below.  

As Canada considers its options for copyright reform, we should be focusing not on whether we should implement graduated response, but on how we ought to do it.

France, the UK, and New Zealand have shown the way. Representatives from Belgium and now Turkey have also expressed support for implementing  such a regime. Yesterday’s iiNet decision in Australia shows that self-regulatory approaches may not work out as expected. And, economists like Professor Bomsel tell us that graduated response is the best way to internalize the externalities associated with copyright infringement to address online file sharing that is hurting creators and the creative industries.

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Posted in Copyright, Graduated Response, ISP Liability, Privacy, Three Strikes

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A reply to ACTA critics

February 2nd, 2010

Last week was another busy week for developments in ACTA. There were meetings in Mexico by representatives from Canada and its key trading partners to further flesh out how to address the worldwide problems with counterfeiting and piracy. Meanwhile, anti-copyright critics were busy filling the blogosphere and press attacking the proposed treaty.

Of course, the actual text of the treaty is not know by the public. So commentators have relied on their interpretations of leaked documents to try and derail it.

When the criticisms are examined, it will be readily apparent that certain ACTA critics misapprehend what has been disclosed and make assertions or reach conclusions that cannot be justified based on the leaked documents. 

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Posted in ACTA, Copyright, Counterfeiting, ISP Liability, Piracy, TPMs, Three Strikes

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The costs and benefits of graduated response in copyright enforcement

February 1st, 2010

There recently has been a debate over the economic costs and benefits behind graduated response systems aimed at reducing online file sharing. Professor Geist, for example, recently posted a blog estimating the costs of a graduated response system. I believe the topic of the costs and benefits of graduated response mechanisms is an important one. Let us take a closer look at this topic and the assertion that graduated response cannot be justified because of its costs.

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Posted in Copyright, Digital Britain, ISP Liability, Piracy, Three Strikes

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Graduated response and copyright: an idea that is right for the times

January 20th, 2010

This is a copy of an article published in The Lawyers Weekly (January  2010) by Barry Sookman and Dan Glover.

In mid-2009, the Canadian government launched a nationwide consultation meant to canvass what amendments to the Copyright Act are necessary to support Canada’s participation in the global, digital economy, and to foster innovation, creativity, competition and investment.

There is no doubt that our copyright laws need amending. Amendments are required on a number of fronts. New exceptions are required to meet legitimate user expectations to access and use copyright content without infringement. Amendments are also needed to reduce online piracy and to support making licensed services available to the public.

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Posted in Articles, Copyright, Digital Britain, Graduated Response, ISP Liability, Three Strikes

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The Italian Pirate Bay Case: What did the court order and why?

January 19th, 2010

On December 23, 2009,  the Italian Supreme Court released its ruling in a case involving criminal charges against the operators of the Swedish website, Pirate Bay. The case raised a number of interesting issues including whether, under Italian criminal law, the operation of a BiTtorrent site is illegal when the operators get a financial return such as by showing advertising on the site; the seizure of a p2p file sharing website is possible; a court can grant injunctive relief requiring ISPs to block access to a site that facilitates infringement; and the criminal law extends to online digital piracy that in part takes place abroad. In line with evolving precedents, the Italian Supreme court answered all of these questions in the affirmative.

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Posted in Copyright, ISP Liability, Piracy

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ITIF Report: Strategies for Reducing Digital Piracy

January 1st, 2010

Earlier this month, The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF) published a paper called Steal These Policies: Strategies for Reducing Digital Piracy. The aim of the paper is to advance a policy in which illegal sources of digital content is reduced while legal content becomes more accessible. The executive summary provides the following overview of the problem as follows:

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Posted in Copyright, Graduated Response, ISP Liability, Piracy, TPMs, Three Strikes

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Fung and Isohunt found liable for inducing worldwide copyright infringement

December 25th, 2009

Earlier this week, a US district court granted summary judgement to MPAA members holding that Gary Fung and four websites operated by him, including Isohunt one of Canada’s largest bittorrent sites, contribute to massive worldwide copyright infringement.

Operators of bittorrent sites like isoHunt often claim they are nothing but content neutral search engines like Google. The Isohunt court disagreed holding, based on uncontested expert evidence, that approximately 95 percent of all files made accessible through Isohunt were infringing or highly likely to be infringing.

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Posted in Copyright, ISP Liability, Piracy, WIPO Treaties

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