The Pirate Bay – Operators Fined for Aiding and Abetting Copyright InfringementThe Pirate Bay – Operators Fined for Aiding and Abetting Copyright Infringement

July 28, 2009July 28, 2009 Barry SookmanBarry Sookman 0 Comments

 In what is being heralded as a victory for copyright holders, a Swedish district court has found four operators of the file-sharing service The Pirate Bay guilty of aiding and abetting copyright infringement, fined them US$3.6 million, and sentenced each to a year in prison.
The defendants were involved in the operation of The Pirate Bay, reportedly one of the world’s largest bittorrent-tracking website. According to the court, users could upload and store torrent files on the Pirate Bay website as well as search the site’s database for torrent files to download.
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Anti-Spam Bill WebinarAnti-Spam Bill Webinar

May 28, 2009May 28, 2009 Barry SookmanBarry Sookman 0 Comments

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.…

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Anti-Spam Bill Raises ConcernsAnti-Spam Bill Raises Concerns

May 12, 2009May 12, 2009 Barry SookmanBarry Sookman 0 Comments

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 24th. 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.…

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

April 30, 2009April 30, 2009 Barry SookmanBarry Sookman 0 Comments

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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Google Settles Book-Search Case with Authors and PublishersGoogle Settles Book-Search Case with Authors and Publishers

February 12, 2009February 12, 2009 Barry SookmanBarry Sookman 0 Comments

Google has entered into an agreement with the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers to settle two lawsuits over Google’s Book Search project. This settlement will allow more materials to be easily accessible online while also ensuring that copyright holders are able to receive compensation for their works.

In 2004, Google started scanning books and making their text available online, accessible through the Google search engine. In 2005, several publishers and authors filed a class action lawsuit, claiming that Google had violated US copyright law.…

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