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Capitol Records LLC v. ReDigi Inc., the applicability of the first sale doctrine to digital music 3

Oct

2012

The start-up ReDigi is judicially battling music giant Capitol Records (EMI) over whether digital music can be resold after it has been lawfully purchased. Launched in October 2011, ReDigi bills itself as an online marketplace for second-hand digital material. When users sign up to its service, they are required to download proprietary software which verifies if ...

SCC Judgement: Hyperlinking to Content Does Not Constitute Republication

Sarit Pandya

Oct

2011

Last Wednesday (October 19th, 2011), the Supreme Court of Canada released its judgement on Crookes v. Newton (2011 SCC 47). The case focused on whether or not liability existed when one post hyperlinks to allegedly defamatory material on the internet. The court’s decision was succinctly summarized by Justice Abella, who stated, “I would conclude that a hyperlink, ...

Google-Motorola Deal: the Patent Portfolio Factor

Giselle Chin

Aug

2011

So we’ve all heard how Google recently bought Motorola for a hefty $12.5 billion on Monday. Aside from the synergies Google gains from end-to-end control, as Google now has hardware, software and service arms to create their mobile products, perhaps just as importantly, Google has also purchased one of the largest patent portfolios of its kind ...

Ghost Authorship of Medical Articles Considered Fraud 1

Giselle Chin

Aug

2011

An article published yesterday in PLoS Medicine, and first presented at an event hosted by the CILP, by Professors Simon Stern and Trudo Lemmens has been receiving considerable media attention. Titled “Legal Remedies for Medical Ghostwriting: Imposing Fraud Liability on Guest Authors of Ghostwritten Articles“, Stern and Lemmens argue that “guest authorship is a disturbing violation of academic integrity standards, which ...

Patent Troll on Steroids: How America’s Patent System May Hurt Innovation 1

Giselle Chin

Jul

2011

This American Life (TAL) is running a story this week that is well worth tuning in for. Some may have heard of Nathan Myhrvold during his time as IBM’s chief strategist and chief of technology or from his $600, six-volume cookbook. But few outside IT circles would know of his “innovative invention company” Intellectual Ventures, and how it is ...

Canada’s Telecom Policy Quadruple Play 101 5

Giselle Chin

Jul

2011

TekSavvy CEO Marc Gaudrault recently wrote an op-ed piece for the Financial Post, encouraging Canadians to stay on top of current, major telecom developments, as it so passionately did in its fight against UBB, because the outcome of these issues will have tangible and far-reaching effects on all Canadian telecom consumers. The best part of the piece, is ...

CRTC’s Net Neutrality Regulation: Superficial

Giselle Chin

Jul

2011

Enforcement has always been the bane of any regulatory agency’s existence. Regulation without teeth hardly merits real attention, or compliance, from those being regulated. In documents released on Friday, Professor Geist of the University of Ottawa, has found the CRTC’s well-publicised Telecom Regulatory Policy (2009), policy which is supposed to regulate net neutrality in Canada, ...

Recording Industry to SCC: Scale Back Fair Dealing

Giselle Chin

Jul

2011

In a factum submitted last week, the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) is arguing that the Supreme Court of Canada should substantially narrow the scope of Canada’s fair dealing standard, a standard established in the seminal CCH v. Law Society of Upper Canada decision in 2004. Last year, the Federal Court of Appeal upheld a decision ...

Vancouver Riot: Why E-Evidence May Not Be Enough 3

Giselle Chin

Jun

2011

In the aftermath of the downtown Vancouver riots that took place after the Canucks’ Game 7 loss to the Boston Bruins on Wednesday, we all heard about how a social media movement took root, with angry and embarrassed Vancouverites posting images online, asking for and giving help in identifying perpetrators. The Facebook page “Vancouver Riot Pics: Post ...

Canada’s Pharmaceutical IP Laws Stronger Than You Think 1

Giselle Chin

Jun

2011

As globalization shrinks our world, new connections are being made in unexpected areas. One such connection is a proposed trade agreement between Canada and the European Union that could have substantial implications on the domestic costs of pharmaceutical drugs if passed. As part of the the trade negotiations, the E.U. has proposed changes to Canada’s ...