Prime Time Crime

 

Copyrights and regulated markets

 

New York Times June 1897

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Web www.primetimecrime.com
   

Vested interest have done their best to cloud the copying of Intellectual property, a Government granted monopoly, with the counterfeiting of physical property which can put lives at risk.  Other related definitions:  Oligopoly   Free market   Regulated market

The old school symbols of freedom, music and film, have become the new symbols of authoritarianism.

   

Greed and Corruption

Media Ownership

Entitled

Regulators

Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement

Michael Geis

   
   

Software piracy down in Canada

OTTAWA - A study released by the Business Software Alliance says the proportion of software installed on computers in Canada that is not legally licensed fell last year to 29% from 32%.   (Financial Post)   PREVIOUS:  Lobby spin   Another win for lobbyists  

 

Glossy, Canadian and subsidized

"Our government is proud to help magazines that speak to Canadians' interests and passions," Federal Heritage Minister James Moore said. The only thing new about the fact that Ottawa is stuffing cash into Canadian magazine publishers' pockets is that the Conservatives seem keen to get some public credit.   (National Post)   MORE:  Magazines receiving money from the Canadian periodical fund

 

Copyright lobby's spin falling apart

Each April, the US issues the Special 301 report, which examines the intellectual property laws of its main trading partners. For the past 15 years, Canada has been included on the watch list of countries the US believes need reforms.  Among the hundreds of submissions, one from the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) stands out as critically important to Canada.  (Toronto Star)

 

Bad Google

PARIS - A Paris court on Friday found the Internet giant Google guilty of violating copyright by digitizing books and putting extracts online, following a legal challenge by major French publishers. (Reuters)     MORE:  Fine for Google over French books

 

Copyright lobby goes after itself

Given how aggressively the recording industry likes to pursue file sharers, one would assume that the industry itself is in the clear when it comes to copyright infringement. But that assumption has been put to the test in Canada, where a massive infringement lawsuit is brewing against some major players. Members of the Canadian Recording Industry Association, including the Big Four (Warner Music Canada, Sony BMG Music Canada, EMI Music Canada, and Universal Music Canada), face the prospect of damages ranging from $50M up to $6B due to their use of artists' music without permission. (Ars Technica)   MORE:  Record industry faces liability    SOCAN's secret copyright submission

 

University fears copyright reforms

OTTAWA - During the last attempt, most of the attention was focused on the implications for music lovers hoping to download and share tunes online, but the same rules would severely restrict what researchers and teachers can do when they work with technology in online courses and in the classroom.  “All knowledge is based on previous knowledge and they're cutting us off from that.”  (Edmonton Journal)   MORE:  Excess copyright   Robot law is taking over   Special interests go online to protest music funding cuts

 

Copyright lobby board recalls pirated report

Canada may not be such a land of lawless pirates after all.  The Conference Board of Canada, which accused Canada in a report last week of being the file-sharing capital of the world, has recalled three reports on intellectual property rights after it was revealed the research contained text plagiarized from entertainment and software industry lobbyists.  (Montreal Gazette)   MORE:  BSA guessed at piracy rates   Lobbying board of Canada

 

EU to extend copyright period

BRUSSELS - Performers and record labels currently earn royalties for 50 years. That would rise to 70 years under the new plan.  .  (BBC)

 

New plan, new set of problems

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is taking a dangerous step with its decision to stop suing suspected music sharers and start cutting off their Internet access instead.  (Washington Post)   MORE:  Music Industry to abandon mass lawsuits   RIAA ‘bait & switch’

 

Industry's digital reversal on copyright

For much of the past decade, the music industry has relied on three pillars to combat peer-to-peer file sharing - lawsuits, locks, and legislation.   (Ottawa Citizen)  

 

All jokes fit into 8 categories

LONDON - Alastair Clarke, a British evolutionary theorist, identified eight patterns which all jokes could fit into no matter where you come from in the world. . (Telegraph UK) 

Copyright debate turns ugly

"The only people who are opposed to this legislation are really two groups of radical extremists," James Moore said at a meeting of the International Chamber of Commerce in Toronto  (CBC) 

MORE:  Who are Moore's 'Radical Extremists'?  Detailed look at Bill C-32: part 1   Developing world mounts opposition   Copyright laws are the opposite of allowing 'market forces' to act     YouTube wins copyright battle with Viacom

 

Copyright cease & desist letter

What makes this cease and desist so very, very special is that it's for a fake product we launched for April Fool's day.  (Think Geek) 

 

Copyright protects public image

CALGARY - Political commentators in Rocky View County claim their local government is using the courts to prevent criticism.   (CTV)

 

For sale

WINNIPEG - Ever dreamed of having your name immortalized on a parking meter?  The city that recently toyed with the idea of corporate-sponsored pothole repair is launching a new campaign aimed at raising money by selling off the naming rights of virtually any city service.  (CBC)

 

Copyright fee

LONDON - The Digital Economy Bill, which requires internet service providers (ISPs) to disconnect users who are accused of illegal file-sharing, will cost consumers up to £500M, the Government has estimated.  The Government’s impact assessment document [available in PDF form], which examines the likely effects of the Bill, estimates that around 40,000 households will give up their broadband connections entirely to avoid the higher fees. (Telegraph UK) 

 

Everybody is still guilty

TORONTO - Since 1997 a small fee has been levied on blank media such as audio cassettes, mini-discs and CD-Rs as a way to compensate artists for copies made of their work.  The non-profit Canadian Private Copying Collective was established to collect the levy and to date they have distributed more than $160M to more than 100,000 songwriters, recording artists, music publishers and record companies.  But now the CPCC says that cash flow will dry up if Canadian law doesn't get with the times. (CP)

 

No trademark on free speech

OTTAWA - Trademark and copyright protections exist to prevent commercial free-riders from exploiting the investments that businesses make in their products and marketing.  These protections are not designed to insulate corporations from public criticism.   (Toronto Star)  PREVIOUS:  Lawyer asks Google to reveal blogger   SLAPP  Censorship in Canada   Canadian Bar Association (CBA)

 

US takes a hit

The creation of ZookZ was made possible by the 2007 WTO ruling that awarded Antigua $21M annually in the form of abrogated rights to US-produced entertainment, meaning Antiguan firms can copy and sell - free of charge - up to $21M each year in entertainment properties otherwise licensed by American entertainment firms.  (Poker News) 

 

Face put on one of worst copyright pirates

MADRID - Pablo Soto's story may be every computer whiz kid's dream - or nightmare. After leaving school at 16 to support his family, he managed to eke out a living doing what he loves most: designing computer programs.   (AP)   MORE:  Big 4 labels target Pablo

 

'Cultural' boss moved

MONTREAL - The embattled president of Quebec's cultural funding body SODEC was removed and transferred to a low-level job until the end of his contract in a move to avoid a potentially crippling lawsuit.  Jean-Guy Chaput was blasted by the provincial auditor-general last month for racking up expenses while travelling on the taxpayer's tab.  (Montreal Gazette)  PREVIOUS:  Where the money for 'art' really goes   What's all the fuss about

 

Piracy blacklist backfire

WASHINGTON - By wildly overstating its claims on many countries, the US has undermined its credibility and confirmed criticisms that the report lacks reliability or objective analysis.   (BBC)  MORE:  US piracy list just bluster    Hollywood battling 'DVD copying'   Win for US lobbying association   IIPA  

   

Lots of power, no responsibility

OTTAWA – The government is once again trying to modernize copyright legislation by introducing a bill that would finally legalize what thousands of Canadians have been doing for years.  (Toronto Star) 

Tony Clement    James Moore

Copyright lobby trump users

Documentarians infuriated

Media control  

Bill C-32

   

Canadians should expect to pay more

Bookworms north of the border shouldn't expect to pay the same prices as their American neighbours even if the dollar hits parity, said Susan Dayus, executive director of the Canadian Booksellers Association.   (CP)

Rules about competition not culture

Expanding our choices or a threat to our culture?

Free the Canadian book market  

Indigo   Heather Reisman   Gerald Schwartz   Chapters

 

   

Guitars down, comrades

LONDON - Millionaire rock stars are traditionally more synonymous with conspicuous consumption than the workers' struggle, but artists have formed a new organization to stand up for their rights.  It will have a six-point manifesto, including fair compensation after deals between labels and technology companies, and a "use it or lose it" approach to copyright so that recordings don't go unreleased.  (Guardian UK)  

Consumers spend big on video games

TORONTO - Canadians spent a record $2 billion on video games last year, fuelled by a $500 million pre-Christmas spending spree in December.  Sales including hardware, software and accessories totalled $2.094 billion in 2008, up 32.7% over the previous year when $1.578 billion was spent.  (CP)

PREVIOUS:   Industry's digital reversal on copyright     TV losing consumers to digital shift   Consumer shift

   

Copyright claim

Just as the University of Ontario Institute of Technology in Oshawa looks for a new name, a city councillor claims he owns the current one.  (Toronto Star)  PREVIOUS:  Canadian intellectual property office 

Authors fight free books site

Scribd.com attracts 55 million visitors a month, many drawn by the chance to download versions of books by popular authors that have been uploaded on to the website without the consent of the writer or publisher.   (Times online)

   

Hollywood north upset at rules

TORONTO - Canada's film and television industry is screaming censorship over a government plan to cut tax credits for productions with graphic scenes of sex and violence, warning the plan could water down edgy Canadian films.  (Reuters)  MORE:  There are some films Ottawa shouldn't bankroll   Smothered with money   When lobbyists speak in tongues   Bill C-10 is bad economics   Bill C-10   Industry will leave Canada

Another copyright success story

Fighting back

VANCOUVER - A Richmond man who runs an Internet search engine that allows users to find video and audio files online is suing the Canadian Recording Industry Association over "false" allegations of copyright infringement.  In an unprecedented move, Gary Fung, president of isohunt Inc. launched a preemptive strike against the CRIA in BC Supreme Court last week stemming from the ongoing dispute with the association over alleged copyright violations.  (Vancouver Province)   RELATED:  Pirate Party

   

Cellphone law reaps double profits

MONTREAL - At Future Shop, they say they're selling Parrots like hotcakes. And virtually every other model of Bluetooth, too.   (Montreal Gazette)

Copyright industry wins another one

OTTAWA - The Supreme Court of Canada won't hear an appeal of a decision that gave musicians and songwriters a percentage of royalties for downloaded cellphone ringtones.   (CBC)

   

Killing cheap technology

At the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2005, Nicholas Negroponte, supreme prophet of digital connectivity, revealed a strange tent-like object. It was designed to change the world and to cost $100. (Times online)   PREVIOUS:  The children machine

'Pay up or we'll sue'

LONDON - The computer games industry has launched an unprecedented assault on illegal downloads, demanding payment from thousands of families who obtained the latest releases over the internet without paying.  (Times online)   MORE:  Big fine for 1st Brit convicted

   

Heirs feel publisher's wrath

NEW YORK - In a Manhattan court this week, John Steinbeck's son and granddaughter were stripped of the rights to some of the author's most famous works, including The Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice And Men, Tortilla Flat, and his first published novel Cup of Gold, after years of courtroom wrangling that would make a dramatic novel of their own.   (Telegraph UK) 

'It ain't broke'

TORONTO - Premier Dalton McGuinty has dampened hopes that the way Ontarians buy beer is going to change.  "It ain't broke," the premier said about a system that gives the foreign-owned Beer Store chain a virtual private monopoly.  (Toronto Star)  PREVIOUS:  Bad Brew: Part 1   Bad Brew: Part 2    Petition protests beer monopoly   Alcoholic beverages in Canada

   

US judge sets Internet music royalties

SAN FRANCISCO - A federal court on Wednesday established a formula for determining the Internet royalties owed to thousands of music composers, writers and publishers by three major online services - Yahoo Inc., AOL and RealNetworks Inc.  (AP)  PREVIOUS:  The Internet is evil

Counterfeit product conference

VANCOUVER - The public is not permitted at the conference, because it will be dealing with the latest methods of detecting counterfeit products. The conference is also being hosted by the Vancouver police department and the law firm of Kestenberg Siegal Lipkus.   (Vancouver Sun)   MORE:  Counterfeiter fads

   

Supreme Court rules against multiple royalties

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court has limited the ability of companies to collect multiple royalties on their patents.   The unanimous decision was helpful to customers of Intel Corp. and is the latest step by the justices to scale back the power of patent-holders.  (AP)  JUDGMENT:  Quanta Computer, Inc. v. LG Electronics, Inc.  .pdf  

Unique voices silenced by copyrights

TORONTO - Documentary filmmakers say it's getting tougher to make independent productions because of growing restrictions on what images and sounds they can use.  The battle over rights issues was a hot topic of discussion at Toronto's Hot Docs Film Festival, where a session last week about fair use was packed with filmmakers from around the world.  (CBC)  

   

Canada still taking part in secret negotiations

OTTAWA - Canadian officials are taking part in negotiations for a top-secret copyright treaty.  Under the worldwide rules of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, Internet service providers such as Bell and Rogers in Canada would be required to become copyright police and filter out pirated material from their networks, hand over the identities of customers believed to be infringing copyrights and restrict the use of identity-blocking software.  (Edmonton Journal)  

EU demands in free trade talks would retool our copyright laws

What happens when you upset Disney 

 

Copyright conviction raises civil rights concerns

Liberals, Bloc and NDP support motion to extend copyright tax

Rules about competition not culture

Copyright overreach goes on world tour

Abuse of power

Hypocrisy and the ACTA

Internet censorship

Net firms start storing user data

Secret treaty

ACTA  

Canadian Consultation Report

Big Brother  

The quiet unravelling of democracy

   

Law eases net snooping

OTTAWA - As Canada's top privacy watchdog, Privacy Commissioner of Canada Jennifer Stoddart regularly appears before House of Commons committee hearings to identify the privacy implications of government bills. In a public letter to Industry Minister Jim Prentice and Canadian Heritage Minister Josée Verner, Stoddart cautioned against using forthcoming copyright legislation to undermine privacy.  (Tyee)    

 

The copyright MPs

The concerns of copyright reform

Identity, privacy and the need of others to know who you are

Security concerns, technological advances threaten privacy

   

Caving into lobbyists

LONDON - Lord Peter Mandelson's visits to Corfu placed him at the centre of a new row today when his department signalled a major U-turn on illegal downloads less than a month after the peer met a Hollywood mogul on the Greek island.  The Digital Britain report, published on June 16 after a year of deliberation, rejected the idea of removing internet use from illegal downloaders.   (Times online)  

Downloaders to have internet connections cut

UK crackdown on file sharing

Pirates, protectionists and panic

Cash for Influence

Greed & Corruption UK

David Geffen

   

Fee for incoming

TORONTO - Rogers Communications Inc. will begin charging wireless subscribers 15 cents for each incoming text message received on cellphones despite watching federal politicians berate its rivals for implementing similar charges last summer.  Bell Canada Inc. and Telus Corp. announced last July that they would charge 15 cents for each incoming text message, a move that prompted a backlash from consumers and some politicians.   (Toronto Star)  

List of Canadian mobile phone companies

Nanny-state mandarins seek to justify jobs

Keep Canada's Internet open

Canadian content (CanCon)

Lobbying central

Need for 'throttling' not supported by ISP figures

Rogers hikes Internet and cable fees

Censorship in Canada

Canadian Media

Big Brother

Mobile phone racket

Ofcom: Mobile rate review

Ofcom to look into mobile charges

Censor seeks red pencil

National censorship council

Dissolve the CRTC  

Bell & Rogers collecting for the CRTC 

Shining a light on Canadian wireless

CanCon not on guest list

CRTC increases CanCon tax

Canadians reject ISP levy

Cabinet asked to referee fights

Potential win for the consumer

New agency created

Why TV lost

Storm clouds ahead

Broadcasters blundered

Canada moves to YouTube, like the rest of the world

Victims pay

Bell wants to make it harder to switch

Bell Canada says customers must pay for fraud calls

Demolish the FCC   CRTC

CRTC troubled by bankrupt TV network's plan

Remstar Corporation

CRTC ponders changes to TV program funding

Media Scam

CRTC will review hands-off approach

CRTC out of control

Commission out of control

TV losing consumers to digital shift

Customers owed refund for phone bills

Google’s end run around the wireless carriers

Open Secrets

Communications Monitoring Report 2008

Wireless Jim's failed auction

$4.25B from wireless spectrum sale

Prentice puts a positive spin on your bills

EU wants to cap costs on text messages

Cost of EU texts to come down by 50%

Ottawa linked to cellphone lobbyists

Canadian Consumer Handbook 2007

CRTC asked to stop Bell's 'throttling'

Bell slows down CBC experiment

'Traffic-shaping' likely to slow Internet users

When government controls opinion

Customer beware: government regulated telecoms

Hot-button issue

Television welfare money on the line

Are you getting what you're paying for?   Speedtest.net

Bell   Rogers   Shaw   Telus  

Rogers seals iPhone deal, profit doubles

Rogers customers complain

Rogers accused of hijacking other web pages

No extra cash

Canadian content

CRTC rejects plea for extra fees

If consumers don't get what they want, it is because the cable and satellite companies won't provide it

CRTC report

Companies scramble to stop cell phone trafficking

Prentice wants explanation

Rogers reacts to complaints

Bell, Telus to charge for incoming text messages

Canadians face triple lock on iPhone

Ottawa's wireless tax

Conventional TV ad revenue declined in 2007

What about consumers

Regulated marketplace backfires

Digital switchover

Good and bad as CRTC hearings wrap up

Regulator sets conditions for deal

BCE (Bell Canada)

Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan

CRTC oks Bell buyout

Rogers website messages irk Google

Is Rogers hijacking the Internet?

It's hard to regulate an industry

The Internet grab

Telus ordered to pay refund

Telephone companies get full access to markets

Time to revamp mobile Internet pricing

Dual-mode disconnect

A wireless 'stranglehold'

The high cost of Canadian wireless

Tories' cellphone misdial

Wireless auction

Confusion the name of the game

Coming soon: grid internet

How about another trade agreement

Bell puts the squeeze on ISPs

The Bell wake up call

Teksavvy 95% approval rating

Bell Sympatico 62% approval rating

CRTC 2007 annual report on Canadian broadcasting

Canada adds new tax on downloaded MP3 files

Comcast blocks some Internet traffic

Apple iPhone warning proves true

Savy cellphone users break free

Hackers who modify iPhones could face legal battle

Unlocking the iPhone could invite DMCA suit

Why Apple Can't stop iPhone hackers

Tories flex some muscle with CRTC

Telephony

Shock jock monitors CRTC

Canadian Telecom complaints commission

Another telecom cash cow

Consumers may gain, someday

Minister from Quebecor

US Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)

Mr. Rogers vs. the 'corporate bums'

Limit access to wireless spectrum, Rogers says

Court certifies class-action cellphone suit

Ottawa hangs up on CRTC

How the CRTC killed Canadian drama

Quebec TV drama takes a punch

Channel gone?  Could be the cable 'ladder'

Subscription fees 'trash,' Rogers tells CRTC

Canadian Association of Broadcasters

'Lobbying' by MPs must be made public

   

Your DNA can not be patented

NEW YORK - A federal judge on Monday nullified patents associated with human genes known to detect early signs of breast and ovarian cancer.  It was the first time a federal court has invalidated a patent on genes. The American Civil Liberties Union, which brought the case, said the New York federal court decision “calls into question the validity of patents now held on approximately 2,000 genes.”  (Wired)

Pigs fly  

Is the DNA patent dead

How human genes became patented in US

ACLU wants patents declared unconstitutional

US Patent Office gave a monopoly on our DNA

USPTO

   

Canada's new copyright bill: more spin than 'win-win'

OTTAWA - When Canada's reform copyright 2008 Bill C-61 was tabled last week, Industry Minister Jim Prentice  called it a "win-win approach" that balanced the needs of users and creators.  Anyone who actually reads the bill, however, will quickly realize that claims about balance are simply spin.  (National Post)

How the US got its Canadian copyright bill

Is the fix in on new copyright laws?

Bill supporters:  Entertainment Software Association    Canadian Recording Industry Association

Laser printers accused of copyright infringement

Canadian bill made in the USA

Digitization of Canada's heritage left to Google

'Huge paradigm shift'

The tail trying to wag the dog

Canadian copyright consultation

Protests surge online

Copyright legislation currently hard to enforce: police

Is your iPod breaking the law?

A Betrayal

Fine print a disturbing read

ISP: Copyright liability

Proposed copyright law puts squeeze on downloads

Government tables copyright bomb

The band pays

   

Homeland already copyright police

WASHINGTON - Federal agents may take a traveler's laptop computer or other electronic device to an off-site location for an unspecified period of time without any suspicion of wrongdoing, as part of border search policies the Department of Homeland Security recently disclosed.   DHS officials said the newly disclosed policies - which apply to anyone entering the country, including US citizens - are reasonable and necessary to prevent terrorism.  Officials said such procedures have long been in place but were disclosed last month because of public interest in the matter.     (Washington Post)

Proposed secret copyright deal   ACTA

Discussion paper on anti-counterfeiting trade agreement  .pdf

Online piracy now means up to 5 years in jail

US NET Act

More bad news coming

Channel ok as long as it has 50% domestic porn

Canadian content

Government of Canada webpage

Writers Guild push for laws to maintain Internet freedom

G8 intellectual property experts' group meeting  .pdf 

A looming legal crises on the Internet

Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)

Government Planning 'Insider' ACTA group

Turning Net into a virtual police state

US piracy crackdown going global

India cuts off 25M cellphones

Privacy watchdog eyes telecoms

Kempton Lam   Corey Doctorow

Michael Geist   Howard Knopf

Tories blink on copyright law change

Turning Canadians into criminals

Canadian DMCA: What you can do

They're shrinking the internet

How the Grinches stole 'net neutrality'

The letters of the law

New levies proposed for iPods and memory cards

Heavy levies could arrive for iPods, memory cards in 2008

Tories blink on copyright law change  

Copyright court fight leads 2008 playlist

Opposition seems to have blindsided Prentice

Prentice to unveil his answer to copyright law disputes

Studios aren't all about protecting artists after all

CAB attacks CRIA

   

Court jails Pirate Bay founders

STOCKHOLM - A court in Sweden has jailed four men behind The Pirate Bay, the world's most high-profile file-sharing website, in a landmark case.  Frederik Neij, Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, Carl Lundstrom and Peter Sunde were found guilty of breaking copyright law and were sentenced to a year in jail.   They were also ordered to pay $4.5M in damages.  (BBC)

Pirate Bay founders defiant

Jail for breaking copyright

Protecting an old business model

Beached but not sunk

Guilty of copyright infringement

What does verdict mean for innovation?

Is Google next?

   

CBC sale of TV rights

There's some funny business going on at the CBC…and we're not talking about a new sitcom here.  Last month, a good chunk of the publicly-owned company's catalogue of TV shows was sold to ContentFilm, which is headquartered in Britain.  (Vancouver Province)   PREVIOUS:  CBC blasted for selling off catalogue

Mint wants $48,000 for use of penny pic

TORONTO - The City of Toronto says the Royal Canadian Mint wants almost $48,000 in compensation after the city used the image of a penny in a prominent ad campaign, without proper authorization.  (CTV)   Egypt to copyright pyramids   Rwandan gorilla seen as copyright opportunity   Hands off our emblem, Canada tells illicit users

   

Net firms quizzed on speed limits

LONDON - Bosses at six of the UK's top net providers are being asked to explain why consumers do not get the broadband speeds firms advertise.  The six executives are being questioned by Ofcom's Consumer Panel which acts as the regulator's customer champion.   (BBC)   RELATED:  Internet pirates could be banned from web   Internet users could be banned   More music industry internet idiocy

Press for harsher action against trademark and copyright violators

TORONTO - The Canadian Chamber of Commerce is spearheading a drive to tighten Canada's protection of intellectual property.  The new Canadian Intellectual Property Council (.pdf) is pressing the case that harsher action against violators of copyright and trademark rights is needed to protect innovation and Canadian competitiveness.  (CP)

   

Johnson & Johnson sues Red Cross over use of Cross Emblem

NEW YORK -  Johnson & Johnson (founded 1886), the health-products giant that uses a red cross as its trademark, sued the American Red Cross, demanding that the charity halt the use of the red cross symbol on products it sells to the public.  (AP)   MORE:  International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (founded Oct. 29, 1863)

Misleading RCMP data

OTTAWA - At the heart of counterfeiting debate are repeated claims that it is a growing problem in Canada that results in billions of dollars in losses each year. Responding to an Access to Information Act request for the sources behind the $30 billion claim, Canada's national police force last week admitted the figures were based on "open source documents found on the Internet."  (Toronto Star)

   

AP stories

The Associated Press (AP) doesn't get to make it’s own rules around how its content is used, if those rules are stricter than the law allows.  So even thought they say they are making these new guidelines in the spirit of cooperation, it's clear that, like the RIAA and MPAA, they are trying to claw their way to a set of property rights that don't exist today and that they are not legally entitled to.  And like the RIAA and MPAA, this is done to protect a dying business model.  (TechCrunch)

 

AP struggles to save face

AP goes after bloggers

Copyright infringement alleged by the Associated Press

 

 

 

New group aims to 'save the Internet'

WASHINGTON - Days before a congressional committee is set to vote on overhaul of the nation's telecommunications policy, a broad coalition of media, consumer and Internet groups has organized behind a dramatic tagline: "Save the Internet."   (C/Net)

 

Net neutrality or playing favourites on the Net

Time Warner AOL & Yahoo to charge for e-mail

America Online   BellSouth   AT&T   Yahoo

Oligopoly Watch: Telephone/cable industry

   

Ontario hospital sued by Bayer

THUNDER BAY - A major pharmaceutical company has taken the unusual step of suing an Ontario hospital for patent infringement, alleging the institution effectively duplicated a patented Bayer Inc. antibiotic by diluting a more concentrated, generic version of the same drug.   (National Post)

Fight for public domain goes on

Digital archivists aren't giving up on their efforts to free out-of-print books, movies and music from overreaching copyright laws, despite a recent setback in court.   Now, out-of-print albums and books -- many of which are not commercially viable -- are simply rotting away unused, but are still protected by copyright.   (Wired)

   

Texas patent court strike again

Microsoft has filed a motion to suspend an injunction imposed by a US court that banned the company from selling copies of Word in the US.  The ban was imposed after a Texan court ruled that Microsoft had breached patents owned by a software company, i4i Ltd, pertaining to the way Word handles XML, a type of programming language.  (Times online)  

Microsoft claims i4i's evidence is 'irrelevant'

Texas patent central

Patent troll 

About face on US patent decisions

US patent laws strike again

A Haven for Patent Pirates

RIM faces fresh patent lawsuit

Patent trolls

'Patent Trolls' may live or die by ebay ruling

Patent troll tracker

Bush signs DVD 'sanitizing bill'

French court rules against copy protection

Judicial Hellholes 2007

TorrentSpy loses Calif. copyright lawsuit

Google sued over patent

BlackBerry Deal: Patently absurd

RIM pays $612M to settle US suit

Settlement reached in BlackBerry patent case

RIM countersues in new patent lawsuit

 

 

Mayor seeks to trademark 'EcoDensity'

VANCOUVER - Want to use the term EcoDensity?   Better watch out.  Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan is about to gain exclusive rights to it, if his application to the Canada Intellectual Property Office goes through without opposition this week.  (Vancouver Sun)   RELATED:  Vancouver: Canada's counterfeit capital

US repels British invasion

WASHINGTON - This fall, the British aren't coming.  Immigration restrictions are stopping some popular UK acts from reaching US borders. Part of the problem, immigration specialists say: The traditional visa system isn't set up to cope with the new face of popular music. (Wall Street Journal)  

   

Search engines challenged on 'theft'

A group of newspaper, magazine and book publishers is accusing Google and other aggregators of online news stories of unfairly exploiting their content.  They are demanding compensation from search engines. (Financial Times) 

 

Old media vs. new media

Belgian papers win Google copyright suit

   

Another RIAA court victory

BOSTON - A federal jury on Friday concluded that a 25-year-old college student must pay $675,000 - or $22,500 for each of the 30 songs he was found liable of infringing. (Wired) 

How it feels to be sued for $4.5M

Joel fights back

Excess copyright

$1.92M fine for 24 songs

Jammie Thomas

Retrial ends with massive fine

Single-mother must pay $80K per song

Rise of Sweden's Pirate Party

RIAA ruling dismissed

Jammie Thomas RIAA mistrial

Court of appeal rejects iPod levy

ISPs pledge not to 'spy' on web users

Net firms in music pirates deal

Apple threatens Victoria school over logo

Dangerous fakes

Sony BMG drop music copy protection

Teen accuses record companies of collusion

MP3s illegal, grounds for lawsuit

Music Industry Needs Dose Of Innovation

Copyright will soon see its name in lights

Power of goodbye

EU court says file sharers don't have to be named

EU reaches ITunes deal with Apple

Man charged with video piracy

Man charged for taping movie at theatre  

Fox expands digital copy to iTunes

Canadian Songwriters Propose Legal Music Sharing Fee

Feds query labels about music prices

The movie download derby

Music industry to tax down-loaders

BC man named in file-sharing lawsuit

Death of the record label and RIAA

Radiohead's revenge is sweet

Hairdresser balks at order to pay

SOCAN seeks tariff on cellphone rightones

Music Industry wins $200,000

Jury finds Thomas liable for infringement

Recording Industry vs. The People

Music companies sue 8,000 more

Digital-copyright.ca

Copyright infringement

Oligopoly Watch: Music Industry

Oligopoly Watch: Movie Industry

Hollywood puts squeeze on Canada

YouTube cuts 29,549 'illegal' clips

Bit brother sees Internet as up for grabs

50% of movie piracy from Canada: Hollywood

DVD region code system

Digital deterrents drive fans away

Judge: sterile movies illegal

New bill would punish students who don't become copyright cops

BC man takes on Hollywood in piracy case

US copyright law

RCMP charges Quebec man for film piracy

RCMP demonstrates that movie piracy law unnecessary

Montreal man could face jail time for movie piracy

Sony BMG Music agree to 'payola' settlement

Sony settles payola investigation

Price-fixing against major record companies

Time Warner settles fraud charges

Copyright walks fine line on civil liberties

Music Companies grab share of YouTube sale

Tone deaf Sarmite 'Sam' Bulte

Historian calls Liberal MP's fundraiser a worry

That's what friends are for

Music companies lose lawsuit

Barenaked guide to music copyright reform

Sony/BMG sued by artists

Canadian Music Creators Coalition

Canadian record label taking on the RIAA

Spitzer subpoenas companies price-fixing

$50M in royalties returned to artists

Sony BMG faces lawsuits

More pain for Sony over CD code

Viruses use Sony anti-piracy CDs

Sony anti-piracy software triggers uproar

Media companies are pirating your copyrights

International Media Control

Canadian Media Ownership

The 36 plots

Movie studio sue 'pirates'

Beatles Lose Apple Suit

Woman takes on Recording industry alone 

Grandpa sued for grandson's downloads

Students fight copyright hoarders

Digital Media 2004

Court: No free music samples

Bootlegs: A short history

RIAA sues hundreds more

Prime Time Crime

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