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Copyright Columns

Amazon, Kindle and an Orwellian misstep
Wednesday July 29th, 2009

Appeared in the Toronto Star on July 27, 2009 as Amazon, Kindle and an Orwellian Misstep

For months many consumers have lamented the absence of the Kindle, Amazon’s popular electronic book reader, from the Canadian market.  Now in its second version, the Kindle has proven to be a major success story in the United States with a loyal user base that relish the chance to wirelessly access books, periodicals, and web content on a single, sleek device.

Yet two recent controversies cast doubt on the Kindle and in the process highlighted how consumers may find themselves vulnerable as they embrace electronic books.

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Canadian Copyright, copycon, copyright, copyright column, Copyright Columns
In Search of a Canadian Digital Action Strategy
Tuesday June 16th, 2009

Appeared in the Toronto Star on June 13, 2009 as Connecting Canada to the Digital World
Appeared in the Ottawa Citizen on June 16, 2009 as In Search of a Canadian Digital Action Strategy

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broadband, Canadian Copyright, clement, copycon, copyright, Copyright Columns, digital strategy, moore, net neutrality, Internet service providers, Broadcasting and Telecom, Copyright
Time To Slay File Sharing Myths
Tuesday June 9th, 2009

Appeared on June 8, 2009 in the Toronto Star as Time To Slay Canadian File-Sharing Myths

This month marks the tenth anniversary of the debut of Napster, the file sharing service that had a transformative effect on the music and Internet services industries.  While many commentators have marked the anniversary by reassessing Napster’s impact and speculating on what lies ahead, now is also a suitable time to put to rest two myths about file sharing in Canada.  

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Canadian Copyright, copycon, copyright, Copyright Columns, file sharing, p2p, Copyright
U.S. List Unfairly Tarnishes Canada's Digital Reputation
Monday May 4th, 2009

Appeared in the Toronto Star on May 4, 2009 as U.S. List Tarnishes Canada's Digital Reputation

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canada, copycon, copyright, Copyright Columns, intellectual property, priority watch list, special 301, ustr, Copyright, Intellectual Property
Songwriters Bid To Legalize File Sharing Gets a Rewrite
Monday March 23rd, 2009

Appeared in the Toronto Star on March 23, 2009 as Songwriters Rewrite Bid for Legalized File Sharing

In the view of thousands of Canadian songwriters, the better way forward was to encourage music sharing by monetizing it.  The SAC proposal envisioned a levy (five dollars per month was floated as a possibility) that would be used to compensate creators for the sharing.  In return, Canadians would be entitled to freely share music for non-commercial purposes.

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actra, copycon, copyright, Copyright Columns, music sharing, p2p, sac, songwriters, Copyright, Music and The Law
Peeking Behind the Wall of Canada's Copyright Complaint Against China
Monday February 9th, 2009

Appeared in the Toronto Star on February 9, 2009 as Scaling Wall Over Canada's Trade Complaint Against China

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canada, china, copyright, Copyright Columns, Counterfeit, criaCounterfeiting, ip, wto, Copyright, Counterfeiting
Canada Post Plays Grinch in Takedown Fight
Monday January 26th, 2009

Appeared in the Toronto Star on January 26, 2009 as Canada Post Plays Grinch in Censorship Row

While the creation of a protest video is not particularly noteworthy, what followed soon after is.  Just as the video began to attract some attention, YouTube removed it after receiving a complaint from Canada Post alleging that the video violated the company’s copyright.

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canada post, copyright, Copyright Columns, grinch, isp, notice and notice, psac, takedown, youtube, Internet service providers, Copyright
Bell's PVR Legal Woes the Tip of the C-61 Iceberg
Monday August 18th, 2008

Appeared on August 18, 2008 as PVR, Bill C-61 Might Soon Make You An Outlaw

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bell, c-61, copycon, copyright, Copyright Columns, Copyright Microsite - Copyright Columns, dmca, pvr, time shifting, Copyright
Government Copyright Bill Fails Green Test
Monday July 21st, 2008

Appeared in the Toronto Star on July 21, 2008 as Government Copyright Bill Fails Green Test

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c-61, cloud computing, copyright, Copyright Canada, Copyright Columns, Copyright Microsite - Copyright Columns, Copyright Microsite - Main Blog/Copyright Central, dmca, e-waste, environment, green copyright, prentice, Copyright
Canadians Face Triple Lock on Apple iPhone
Monday July 7th, 2008

Appeared in the Toronto Star on July 7, 2008 as Popular iPhone Debuts This Week

The Rogers offer is not particularly surprising.  Canada ranks toward the very bottom among developed countries for cellphone penetration as the lack of competition leaves Canadians with some of the highest prices for wireless services in the world.  Indeed, Rogers has a monopoly on the iPhone since it is the only Canadian carrier currently capable of carrying the device.

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apple, c-61, Copyright Columns, iphone, prentice, rogers, wireless, wireless number portability, Broadcasting and Telecom