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cloud computing

9 posts

Cloud computing services not subject to PST says BC court: Hootsuite Inc. v British Columbia (Finance)

Cloud computing and PST

Are cloud computing services subject to provincial sales tax? According to a recent decision of the BC Supreme Court in Hootsuite Inc. v British Columbia (Finance), 2023 BCSC 358 the cloud computing services AWS Support, EC2 and S3, and AWS direct connect are not subject to provincial sales tax under the  Provincial Sales Tax Act, S.B.C. 2012, c. 35 [PSTA]. In short, these services are not taxable as, depending on the service, they are not the purchase of software programs, they constitute the purchase of on-demand infrastructure (IaaS), the service does not contain a software program, the software program is not used in BC, the service is not used in BC, or the service is otherwise exempt under incidental exemptions in the PSTA.…

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Microsoft Azure IP Advantage: cloud computing without patent risk?

Microsoft’s President and Chief Legal Officer, Brad Smith recently announced a new program called the Microsoft Azure IP Advantage program. It is touted as  “the industry’s most comprehensive protection against intellectual property (IP) risks”. It will be available for users of Azure cloud offerings. The  protection is intended to “help foster a community that values and protects innovation and investments in the cloud” “without worrying about lawsuits”, especially from non-practicing entities (NPEs, aka patent trolls) and the frivolous patent lawsuits they are infamous for.…

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Microsoft wins big in warrant fight to protect privacy of user data

Microsoft scored a major victory for the privacy of its cloud computing users yesterday winning a closely watched case against U.S. Government. In Microsoft Corporation v USA (2nd.Cir. Jul. 14, 2016), the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals held that a warrant issued under Section 2703 of the Stored Communications Act (ECA) did not have extra-territorial effect to require U.S. based Microsoft to access and provide the government with user data stored on servers operated by a subsidiary in Dublin Ireland.…

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Contracting for a cloud computing deal?

Cloud computing is on the mind of many CIO’s these days. Its also on the mind of lawyers. Lawyers know contracting for cloud services can be difficult given the potential risks associated with these services. For regulated entities like Canadian financial institutions, a material public cloud transaction also poses serious OSFI compliance challenges. The standard form contracts of many cloud providers also contributes to the difficulties. For a survey of these terms, see Simon Bradshaw et al Contracts for Clouds: Comparison and Analysis of the Terms and Conditions of Cloud Computing Services.…

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New CASL regulations coming but will they fall short?

Andy Kaplan-Myrth of Industry Canada spoke last week at a well-attended joint meeting of the Toronto Computer Lawyer’s Group and the CBA on Canada’s new anti-spam/spyware law (CASL). Specifically he talked about the upcoming revised Industry Canada regulations. Andy is a policy analyst with IC and is one of the people in charge of producing these regulations.

Here is a short summary of what was discussed from notes taken by James Gannon. One caveat, any questions that Andy answered related to interpretation of the statute were his personal opinion and not those of Industry Canada or the CRTC.…

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Reflections on the new CRTC CASL regulations

Earlier this month the CRTC published its final regulations under the new Canadian Anti-SPAM legislation (CASL). The regulations have now been published in the Canada Gazette. The Commission has now also provided an explanation of its reasons for why it made, or refused to make, changes to its previously issued draft regulations.

Industry Canada has followed a separate route. Rather than finalizing its regulations, it will publish a new set of regulations to obtain further feedback from the public. In view of the significant problems identified by approximately 60 associations, companies, and organizations as well as individuals that filed submissions with Industry Canada and the Commission this approach makes sense.…

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B-10 Outsourcing Guideline applies to cloud computing says OSFI

Yesterday, OSFI released a memorandum reminding financial institutions that its outsourcing B-10 Guideline applies to new technology-based outsourcing arrangements including cloud computing. In the short memorandum, OSFI stated the following:

Information technology plays a very important role in the financial services business and OSFI recognizes the opportunities and benefits that new technology-based services such as Cloud  Computing can bring; however, FRFIs should also recognize the unique features of such services and duly consider the associated risks.

As such, and in light of the proliferation of new technology-based outsourcing services, OSFI is reminding all FRFIs that the expectations contained in Guideline B-10 remain current and continue to apply in respect of such services.

…
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The OPC on online tracking, profiling and targeting and cloud computing

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner released a report yesterday on online tracking, profiling and targeting and cloud computing, Report on the 2010 Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada’s Consultations on Online Tracking, Profiling and Targeting, and Cloud Computing. These areas are currently very hot and challenging topics for Canadians and Canadian businesses.

The privacy issues raised by online tracking, profiling and targeting and cloud computing raise many questions with important public policy and economic implications. The report, by and large, raises and does a good job of explaining the issues and challenges.…

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Barry Sookman
This site is about technology, copyright, artificial intelligence, and privacy law.