Is a stormtrooper’s helmet a sculpture protected by copyright? Can a defendant living in the UK be sued for infringing the US Copyright Act in the UK? Can an ISP be forced to block a foreign website whose services are being used to download infringing TV programmes and movies? Does Internet streaming of television programming without permission infringe the communication to the public right? Does temporary buffering to deliver streams of film and TV programming infringe the reproduction right? Does offering an online news clipping service which involves copying headlines and short extracts of articles infringe copyright? Can such a service rely on a fair dealing defense?
Archive for the ‘p2p piracy’ category
Developments in Computer, Internet and E-Commerce Law (2010-2011)
June 15th, 2011Here are the slides used in my presentation to the Toronto Computer Lawyers Group earlier today, The Year in Review: Developments in Computer, Internet and E-Commerce Law (2010-2011). It covers significant developements since my talk last spring.
The slides include a summary of the following cases and statutory materials:
Privacy:
Cite Cards Canada Inc. v. Pleasance, 2011 ONCA 3
Leon’s Furniture Limited v. Alberta (Information and Privacy Commissioner), 2011 ABCA 94
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company v. Privacy Commissioner of Canada, 2010 FC 736
Nammo v. TransUnion of Canada Inc., 2010 FC 1284
Posted in Amazon, Computer Misuse, Copyright, E-commerce, Electronic Commerce Protection Act (ECPA), FISA, FIWSA, Fair Dealing, Google Book Scanning, ISP Liability, IT Contracts, Limitations of liability, Outsourcing, Patents, Piracy, Presentations, Privacy, Trade Marks, authorization, business method patents, communication to the public, conflicts of law, conflicts of laws, contributory infringement, data protection, idea expression dichotomy, iiNet case, intellectual property, p2p piracy, spam
Tags: barry sookman class actions Copyright data protection E-commerce google book project intellectual property IT Contracts Limitations of liability Patents Privacy trade-marks
UN report on internet disconnection flawed and contrary to jurisprudence
June 13th, 2011Recently, the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression released a controversial report in which he stated he was
“alarmed by proposals to disconnect users from Internet access if they violate intellectual property rights. This also includes legislation based on the concept of “graduated response”, which imposes a series of penalties on copyright infringers that could lead to suspension of Internet service, such as the so-called “three strikes-law” in France and the Digital Economy Act 2010 of the United Kingdom.”
Canada back on the USTR 2011 Special 301 Watch List
May 2nd, 2011The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) just published its 2011 Special 301 Report. The 2011 Special 301 review process examined IPR protection and enforcement in 77 of the US’s trading partners. The Special 301 Report is a critical mechanism for the U.S. government to ensure that its trading partners provide adequate and effective protection of IP for America’s creators and innovators.
Following extensive research and analysis, the USTR again listed Canada on its Priority Watch List along with Algeria, Argentina, Canada, China, India, Israel, Indonesia, Pakistan, Russia, Thailand, and Venezuela.
Posted in Copyright, Counterfeiting, Piracy, intellectual property, p2p piracy
Tags: barry sookman
New Zealand passes law to reduce online file sharing
April 14th, 2011New Zealand just enacted legislation that puts in place a three-notice regime to deter illegal file sharing.
The three-notice regime involves ISPs sending warning notices to their customers informing them they may have infringed copyright. The legislation extends the jurisdiction of the NZ Copyright Tribunal to provide an efficient, low-cost process to hear illegal file-sharing claims. The tribunal will be able to make awards of up to $15,000 based on damage sustained by the copyright owner.
Who Profits from Piracy?
April 12th, 2011The video shown below is based on a presentation first given by Ellen Seidler (fastgirlfilms) at Canadian Music Week’s Global Forum in March of 2011.
In the introduction to the video she says: ”Online piracy isn’t about altruism, it’s about income. Today’s technology allows web pirates to steal content and monetize that content with a click of a mouse. Meanwhile, “legit” companies encourage and facilitate this theft while also profiting from it (ad service providers, advertisers and payment processors). The time has come for reasonable measures to be taken to discourage this theft. Content creators and consumers will benefit. Only the pirates and those who profit from their theft will lose.”
Posted in Copyright, Piracy, p2p piracy
Tags: barry sookman Copyright ellen seidler video fastgirlfilms Piracy
Rethinking notice and notice after C-32
April 4th, 2011Canada’s last three copyright bills, C-60, C-61 and C-32, attempted to curb illegal online file sharing by requiring ISPs to forward notices of claimed infringements to customers. Canada’s ISPs had advocated for this “notice and notice” process claiming it was effective. However, they never produced any empirical evidence or studies to back up their claims.
What art copyrights and sandwhiches have in common
March 21st, 2011Here is a video included in a blog How copyright infringement is like stealing my sandwhich. It is by an artist “to put copyright infringement into terms the average person can understand: lunch”. It is an interesting perspective given the recent testimony of Margaret Atwood at the Parliamentary Committee on Bill C-32.
Posted in Bill C-28, Piracy, c-32, copyright reform, p2p piracy
Tags: barry sookman Copyright copyright reform fair dealing Piracy theft
Are Canada’s copyright laws friendly or unfriendly towards wealth destroyers according to Prof. Geist?
March 9th, 2011In the last few weeks Prof. Geist has been writing, blogging, tweeting, speaking and even testifying to a Parliamentary Committee about the IsoHunt case and whether there is a need for an amendment to the Copyright Act to create a new cause of action to make online pirate sites and services liable for enabling copyright infringement. His ostensible claim is that representatives of the recording industry secretly filed a copyright infringement claim against IsoHunt three weeks before Bill C-32 was tabled in the House of Commons; kept the suit secret to improve their chances of getting copyright reforms needed to shut the site down – all the while not needing the amendments because they already have the legal tools necessary to put IsoHunt out of business. These claims were made here, here, here, here, here, here, and here, among others, and were widely disseminated and syndicated by Prof. Geist including here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
iiNet court backs reasonableness of graduated response to stop illegal file sharing
March 8th, 2011Last week the Australian Full Court released its decision in the landmark case Roadshow Films Pty Limited v iiNet Limited, [2011] FCAFC 23. The Australian appeals court by majority dismissed the appeal from the decision of the primary judge who had held that iiNet, an ISP in Australia that had not acted on any information provided to it by copyright owners, was not liable for authorizing the copyright infringement of its subscribers who had used its facilities to engage in unlicensed peer to peer file sharing.
Posted in Copyright, Graduated Response, Piracy, Three Strikes, WIPO Treaties, authorization, c-32, communication to the public, copyright reform, geist, iiNet case, p2p piracy, wct, wppt
Tags: australia copyright authorization barry sookman Bill C-11 Bill C-32 Bill c-61 Graduated Response iinet ISP Liability p2p file sharing Piracy Three Strikes
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