Tag: canada

UK: “not practical” to adopt US fair useUK: “not practical” to adopt US fair use

December 9, 2011December 9, 2011 Barry SookmanBarry Sookman 0 Comments

The UK will not adopt US fair use. This was revealed in statements made by Baroness Wilcox, the UK Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Business, Innovation and Skills and John Alty, Chief Executive and Comptroller General, Intellectual Property Office, in testimony before the UK Business, Innovation and Skills Committee on November 15, 2011.

Here is a extract from the testimony.

Q219 Chair : At the time, there were assertions that companies such as Google would not start up in this country because of the UK copyright law.

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Copyright coming to the Supreme Court of CanadaCopyright coming to the Supreme Court of Canada

November 25, 2011November 25, 2011 Barry SookmanBarry Sookman 0 Comments

The copyright bar and the Supreme Court are gearing up for two big days of copyright appeals. The five appeals are being heard back to back on December 6 and 7, 2011.

Earlier today the Court circulated the draft schedule for the arguments. It lists all the parties, the interveners, the lawyers involved, and the order in which the cases are going to be heard. It is going to be a very interesting two days for copyright in Canada.

The Court has published case summaries.…

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Supreme Court denies leave in satellite radio copyright caseSupreme Court denies leave in satellite radio copyright case

October 21, 2011October 21, 2011 Barry SookmanBarry Sookman 0 Comments

Yesterday the Supreme Court denied CSI’s motion for leave to appeal in the CSI v Canadian Satellite Radio Inc. case. The result leaves standing the decision of the Federal Court of Appeal in Sirius Canada Inc. v. CMRRA/SODRAC Inc., 2010 FCA 348. This decision dismissed two judicial review applications from the Copyright Board’s decision released in April, 2009.

The decision of the Federal Court of Appeal contained several important copyright rulings. In particular the Court ruled that:

  • When an entity provides a service for use with its own designed and manufactured devices e.g.,
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Copyright Bill C-11 gets second reading in the House of CommonsCopyright Bill C-11 gets second reading in the House of Commons

October 19, 2011October 19, 2011 Barry SookmanBarry Sookman 0 Comments

Yesterday Bill C-11 was given second reading in the House of Commons. The statements by the Government and opposition parties can be found here.

For the record, Industry Minister Christian Paradis said the following in speaking about the Bill in the House:

Mr. Speaker, as you know, this is the second time that the government has introduced this bill. During the previous Parliament and for almost a year, the Copyright Modernization Act—then known as Bill C-32—was carefully examined and debated by parliamentarians and stakeholders.

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Some observations on Bill C-11: The Copyright Modernization ActSome observations on Bill C-11: The Copyright Modernization Act

October 3, 2011October 3, 2011 Barry SookmanBarry Sookman 6 Comments

Last Thursday the Government of Canada introduced into the House of Commons Bill C-11, an Act to Amend the Copyright Act. In a press release describing the Bill, Heritage Minister James Moore and Industry Minister Christian Paradis, stated that the Bill will ensure that Canada’s copyright laws “are modern, flexible, and in line with current international standards” and will “protect and help create jobs, promote innovation, and attract new investment to Canada.”

In the press conference announcing the Bill at the Ottawa office of software producer bitHeads Inc.,…

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Canada signs ACTACanada signs ACTA

September 30, 2011September 30, 2011 Barry SookmanBarry Sookman 0 Comments

Earlier today, Ed Fast, the Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway, signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. The press release announcing the signing stated the following:

“Counterfeit and pirated goods are an increasingly global problem that requires a globally coordinated solution,” said Minister Fast. “We all have an interest in combatting counterfeiting and piracy because these activities cost billions of dollars each year in revenue and trade losses, which translates into higher prices, lost income and lost jobs for people employed in a range of industries—from film and pharmaceuticals to electronics.

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Copyright and privacy bills to be introduced in House of CommonsCopyright and privacy bills to be introduced in House of Commons

September 27, 2011September 27, 2011 Barry SookmanBarry Sookman 0 Comments

The Government will likely introduce new Bills to amend the Copyright Act and the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) within the next few days. The Parliament of Canada Notice Paper for Wednesday September 28, 2011 provides notice that the Minister of Industry and Minister of State (Agriculture) will introduce a Bill entitled “An Act to Amend the Copyright Act” and a Bill entitled “An Act to Amend the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act”.  The actual notices are dated September 27, 2011, which means that the Bills could be introduced as early as this Thursday.…

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Fixing CASL: comments on the draft CRTC and Industry Canada regulationsFixing CASL: comments on the draft CRTC and Industry Canada regulations

September 7, 2011September 7, 2011 Lorne Salzman and Barry SookmanLorne Salzman and Barry Sookman 0 Comments

Today is the last day for filing comments on the Electronic Commerce Protection Regulations proposed by Industry Canada and the CRTC. Submissions to the CRTC on the draft CRTC CASL regulations are available at the Commission’s website http://ow.ly/6o8Xq.

Here are our comments filed earlier today.

Salzman Sookman CASL regulation comments
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