In what seems to be a never-ending war on piracy, the Royal Navy has been seemingly substituted for an army of lawyers, and skirmishes on the seas traded for exchanges in a courtroom. In a decision that mirrors an international effort to limit access to the peer-to-peer file sharing website known as “The Pirate Bay” […]
Edward Elgar Publishing has released a paperback edition of the book Copyright, Contracts, Creators – New Media, New Rules by Prof. Giuseppina D’Agostino. Copyright, Contracts, Creators evaluates the efficacy of current copyright law to address the contracting and use of creative works. It looks in particular at freelance works and argues that their copyright treatment […]
The battle’s heating up, but this time it’s not in kitchen stadium – it’s in the courthouse. Today’s secret ingredient – copyright which protects reality TV shows such as Iron Chef, American Idol, Real World, Most Extreme Elimination Challenge (MXC) and Big Brother.
On May 10th, 2012 Dish network (hereafter “DISH”) announced that it would be adding a new feature named “AutoHop” to their digital video recorder (the Hopper). The feature would allow viewers to automatically skip over advertisements in the shows that they record. Large TV networks such as Fox, CBS and NBC have called the feature […]
Free online access to tax-funded scientific research is the most recent movement by American open-access advocate group Access2Research. The group calls for a policy similar to the one currently implemented by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). New scientific papers, which were funded by the NIH, are deposited in the online databank PubMED within a […]
Previously cited as “the case that could shut down the internet“, Roadshow Films Pty Ltd v iiNet Ltd [2012] HCA 16 (commonly known as AFACT v iiNet or the iiTrial) concluded with a unanimous decision from the Australian High Court ruling that the iiNet, an internet service provider, was not liable for copyright infringement from […]
The copyright and patent dispute between Oracle and Google continues, however a partial verdict on the copyright side of the debate has been handed down.
May 14, 2012 brings the latest attempt at copyright reform, Bill C-11 one step closer to fruition. Bill C-11 began with its Introduction and Initial Reading before the House in September of 2011, and is presently, as of May 14 2012, in its Report Stage. Otherwise known as Canada’s Copyright Modernization Act, Bill C-11 was […]
Part of what makes studying the creative arts from a legal perspective so fascinating is the diversity of forms that art takes, and the ways in which law is sometimes underprepared to deal with issues brought forward through art. A classic instance of this problem is the case of Rick Gibson, a Canadian artist who […]
The Copyright Modernization Act (Bill C-11) has generated much discussion on its merits and deficiencies. However, one issue that commentators have not discussed in depth is the relationship between laws and social norms. Specifically, whether any amendments to copyright law in Canada will have an effect on user behaviour given the social acceptability of copyright […]