canada Archives - Barry Sookman

Canada to extend copyright term for artists and record producers

The Canadian Government announced today that it is amending the Copyright Act to extend the term of protection for performers and makers of sound recordings from its current term of 50 years to 70 years. The announcement, which also included a statement that Canada intends to accede to the Marrakesh Treaty for the blind and visually impaired, was made as part of the Government’s Budget and is expected to be enacted as part of a budget implementation bill to be tabled in Parliament within the next few days.…

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Canada to accede to Marrakesh Treaty and extend copyright term in sound recordings

The Canadian Government announced today that it is making amendments to the Copyright Act to enable Canada to accede to the Marrakesh Treaty and to extend the term of copyright protection for performers and makers of sound recordings from 50 to 70 years. The announcement was made as part of the Government’s Budget and is expected to be enacted as part of a budget implementation bill to be tabled in Parliament within the next few days.

The Budget described the Government’s intentions in relation to the Marrakesh Treaty as follows:

The Government will propose amendments to the Copyright Act to implement and accede to the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled.

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Uncategorized

User’s Guide to Canadian Copyright Tariffs

Ever have trouble figuring out what tariffs have been certified by the Copyright Board for the uses of copyright? If so, the new book entitled User’s Guide to Canadian Copyright Tariffs written by McCarthy Tétrault lawyers Peter Grant, Grant Buchanan, Dan Glover and Keith Rose is for you.

This 350 page book is an annotated guide to Canadian copyright tariffs relating to the use of music, the reproduction of literary works, media monitoring, private copying, and the retransmission of distant radio and television signals.…

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Copyright law 2014: the year in review

As the creative industries continued to grow economically in importance in 2014, so have the stakes in copyright litigation. Increasingly, the courts have been challenged to resolve complex disputes arising from new uses of works and other subject matter brought about by innovations in technology. While content is often a core and indispensable element of new and innovative services, products or offerings, frequently parties dispute whether the use requires permission and payment to rights holders or can be engaged in without permission or payment.…

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Michael Geist’s attack on artists over Tariff 8

On May 16, 2014 the Copyright Board released its decision certifying Re: Sound Tariff 8 setting royalty rates for webcasting services in Canada. Re:Sound promptly filed an application for judicial review of the decision, calling it a “significant outlier in the world” that “greatly disadvantages the Canadian music industry in the globalized market place.” Re:Sound’s application was met with a blizzard of support when 70 music organizations released a joint statement publically denouncing the Copyright Board decision. They called it “a serious setback for the music community in Canada” and “for artists and the music companies who invest in their careers”.…

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Google ordered by BC court to block websites: Equustek Solutions Inc. v. Jack

In an important decision rendered on June 13, 2014, a Canadian court ordered Google to block a website that was selling goods that violated the trade secrets of the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs obtained a default judgment against the defendants. But, the defendants continued to sell the offending goods over the Internet. The plaintiffs, unable to enforce their judgment, asked for Google’s help in blocking the website. Google voluntarily de-indexed specific URL’s requested by the plaintiffs, but this “whac-a-mole” process was ineffective.…

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Notice and notice regime under C-11 coming into force

The Government announced today that the notice and notice regime established under C-11 is coming into force in January 2015. The delay in bringing these provisions into force was a consultations on possible regulations that the regime permitted. The Government announced that the provisions are coming into force without regulations.

The regime permits copyright owners to send notices to internet service providers and other internet intermediaries claiming infringement of copyright. The notices must be passed on by these service providers to their users.…

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Presentations

Developments in Computer, Internet and E-Commerce Law (2013-2014)

Earlier today, I gave my annual presentation to the Toronto Computer Lawyers’ Group on developments in Computer, Internet, and e-commerce Law. The slides cover the period from my last presentation in June 2013, Developments in Computer, Internet and E-Commerce Law (2012-2013).

The cases summarized in the slides below canvass developments in a number of countries and include cases from Canada, United States, and the EU.

CANADA

Alberta (Information and Privacy Commissioner) v. United Food and Commercial Workers, Local 401 2013 SCC 62

(AOM) NA Inc.…

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orphan works

Orphan works: the Canadian solution

I had the pleasure of being a panelist at the 2014 Annual Fordham Law and Policy IP Conference. My panel was on the topic of orphan works and mass digitization. My contribution was to provide a summary of Canada’s orphan works regime. The following are some of my speaking notes from the panel.

S.77 of the Act sets out the basis for granting licences to works and other subject matter where the owner cannot be located after reasonable efforts. S.…

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Yesterday, I gave a talk at the Law Society of Upper Canada’s 18h Annual Intellectual Property Law: The Year in Review program. My talk canvassed developments in copyright in Canada, the US and UK in 2013. My slides are shown below. The associated paper prepared in collaboration with Glen Bloom, with the help of others, is available here.

The following copyright cases from Canada, the USA, and UK are dealt with in the slides. The paper has additional Canadian cases.

CANADA

(AOM ) NA Inc.

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