Barry Sookman

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

Archive for the ‘TPMs’ category

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

Tags: Copyright copyright reform Fair Use geist Graduated Response three strikes fair dealing

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

Tags: ACTA Copyright copyright reform Graduated Response Three Strikes

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

Tags: Copyright drm Graduated Response Piracy Three Strikes tpms

Only once more – and then Marry Christmas and Happy New Year to everybody, including Professor Geist and his devoted followers: the 1996 WIPO Diplomatic Conference, the WIPO Treaties and the balance of interests

December 23rd, 2009

Christmas is two days away; I have to concentrate on my eight grandchildren. I am really not in the mood to deal with copyright, and I do not want to read books, articles and blogs about it this year anymore. However, a colleague of mine in Germany (he may not have been in full Christmas mood yet like me) sent me an e-mail asking me to correct somebody’s allegations which he has found obviously untrue (in fact he has used certain adjectives to describe his opinion about those allegations, which, however, I – sticking on the spirit of what is called, at least in my country, the holiday of love – definitely do not want to quote). So, I have visited the source indicated by him, and yes, I have found Professor Geist’s friendly comments about my post politely remarking that I might be wrong about the interpretation of the 1996 WIPO Treaties concerning the coverage of the anti-circumvention provisions. To prove this, he quotes Professor Pamela Samuelson who, on the basis of what happened – at least according to her – at the Diplomatic Conference, states that the Treaties do not obligate Contracting Parties to extend protection against circumvention devices.

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Posted in Copyright, TPMs, WIPO Treaties

Tags: copyright reform copyrighyt geist tpms wct WIPO Treaties

Dr. Ficsor is right; Prof. Geist is wrong about the WIPO Internet Treaties

December 23rd, 2009

Earlier this week, Dr. Ficsor posted a blog inviting Canada to join the international community by ratifying the WIPO Internet Treaties. Dr. Ficsor is an internationally revered copyright scholar and professor and the former Assistant Director General of WIPO. As his posting pointed out, he was also responsible for organizing the preparatory work of the two Treaties, for the 1996 Diplomatic Conference adopting them, and for the first efforts to achieve their adequate implementation, There is no one on the planet who knows more about the treaties or what was intended by them than him.

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Posted in Copyright, TPMs, WIPO Treaties

Tags: Copyright copyright reform ficsor geist tpms wct WIPO WIPO Treaties wppt

Dr. Ficsor: An invitation to Canada to join the international community by ratifying the WIPO Internet Treaties

December 21st, 2009

Geneva, December 21, 2009: An invitation – presented to Canada to join the international community by ratifying and duly implementing the WIPO “Internet Treaties” – that should not be turn down

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Posted in ACTA, Copyright, Piracy, TPMs, WIPO Treaties

Tags: canada Copyright copyright reform ficsor geist WIPO WIPO Treaties

Fear Mongering and Misinformation Used to Slag ACTA

November 18th, 2009

Last week saw a lot of digital ink spilled over speculation about what the Internet Chapter of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is going to contain. Some opponents of ACTA including Prof. Geist helped to leak the contents of a two page confidential memorandum that contained a written account of an oral report on what was still being negotiated.[i]

Based on this two page preliminary document, ACTA opponents began a frenzied propaganda campaign against ACTA. Prof. Geist led the feverish attack writing articles, blogs, tweets, giving a speech in Washington, and press and radio interviews.[ii]

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Posted in ACTA, Copyright, Counterfeiting, Graduated Response, Piracy, TPMs, Three Strikes

Tags: ACTA Copyright copyright reform geist Graduated Response Three Strikes tpms

Gilham v R – UK CA Conviction for Selling Mod Chips

November 13th, 2009

In Gilham v R [2009] EWCA Crim. 229, http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Crim/2009/2293.html, the UK Court of Appeal upheld the conviction of a seller of mod chips, holding that the sale of mods chips violates the UK anti-circumvention legislation.

In the course of giving reasons, the Court made some observations on whether copying of sounds and images from a DVD into the RAM of a video console in the course of playing a game could constitute copyright infringement. The court held that copying of even a single frame of a movie of video game could be considered a reproduction of the artistic works embodied in the game. The Court also expressed dicta that copying of only small amounts of music at any one time “copying little and often” could be considered an infringement.

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Posted in Copyright, TPMs

Tags: anti-circumvention legislation RAM copying substantial part

A Time for Change: Toward a New Era for Intellectual Property Rights in Canada.

April 30th, 2009

The Canadian Intellectual Property Council (CIPC) recently released a report entitled A Time for Change: Toward a New Era for Intellectual Property Rights in Canada. The report discusses the importance of an effective intellectual property (IP) rights (IPR) system in encouraging innovation, ensuring economic prosperity, and maintaining global competitiveness. It then outlines a number of areas in which Canada’s IPR regime lags behind other nations and does not adequately protect IPRs. In particular, it notes that counterfeiting and piracy go largely unchecked in Canada, costing the Canadian economy an estimated $22 billion annually.

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