Copyright

Blog, Copyright

After a longstanding rejection of copyright term extension beyond the international law standard of life of the author plus 50 years, the Canadian government caved to pressure from the United States and agreed, in Article 20.62 of the Canada-US-Mexico Trade Agreement (CUSMA), to extend the term of copyright to life of the author plus 70 years. Canada negotiated a 30 month transition period to allow for consultation on how to implement that commitment.

Blog, Copyright

It’s Fair Dealing and Fair Use Week. I didn’t initially plan to write anything but Meera Nair’s excellent post on fair dealing misrepresentations prompted me to add a few points. Meera’s post describes how sixteen years after CCH v LSUC and “[d]espite the continued development of fair dealing by our Courts …, and Parliament’s continuing support for use and expansion of exceptions, fair dealing is even further from a solid footing in Canada’s university sector.”

Blog, Copyright Collectives

On Wednesday, February 12, 2020, the Copyright Board sent out a Notice by email (the Notice has not yet appeared on the Board’s website) correcting an error made in its decision from December 6, 2019 regarding the approval of Access Copyright’s higher education tariffs. This is the second Notice correcting errors in the Board’s decision in this case. The Board had previously issued an Erratum after realizing that an error in calculating interest on the licence fees would have resulted, unintentionally, in doubling these amounts.

Blog, Copyright, Copyright Collectives

On Dec 4, I appeared before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, as part of the statutory review of the Copyright Act and its study on remuneration models for artists and creative industries. Here is my written testimony: Good morning. My name is Ariel Katz. I am a law professor at the University of Toronto, where I hold the Innovation Chair Electronic Commerce. I am grateful for the opportunity to appear before you today. In my comments today, I would like to focus on some of the ways in which copyright contributes to or detract from the …

Statutory Review of the Copyright Act: My Testimony Before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage Read more →

Blog, Copyright, Copyright Collectives, Stationers

On Dec 3, I appeared before the House of Common’s Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology, as part of the statutory review of the Copyright Act. Here is my written testimony: Good afternoon. My name is Ariel Katz. I am a law professor at the University of Toronto, where I hold the Innovation Chair Electronic Commerce. I am grateful for the opportunity to appear before you today. In my comments today, I would like to focus on dispelling some of the misinformation about the application of copyright law and fair dealing in the educational sector.

Blog, Copyright

Sean Flynn, American University Washington College of Law Michael W. Carroll, American University Washington College of Law Peter Jaszi, American University Washington College of Law Ariel Katz, University of Toronto, Faculty of Law Leandro Mendonça, Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF), Cultural Production Department Diane Peters, Creative Commons Corporation (HQ) Allan Rocha de Souza, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ) Copyright laws the world over are under massive pressure to reform to fit the digital environment. One key area often in need of reform is in the exceptions to copyright that enable the digital practices. Without exceptions, common practices may be …

South Africa’s Proposed Copyright Fair Use Right Should Be a Model for the World Read more →

Antitrust / Competition Law, Blog, Copyright, Stationers

The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) has requested me to prepare a Report in connection with the application by the FairPlay Coalition to the CRTC and its proposed website-blocking mechanism. PIAC asked me to assess the Applicants’ claims in light of the best available theoretical and empirical evidence. More specifically, to determine whether the academic literature and the Application itself substantiate the alleged harms of piracy and the efficacy and benefits of the proposed website blocking remedy. If you’d like to read my Report, here it is. If you’d like to read only the introduction and the conclusion, keep reading.

Blog, Copyright, My Research

It is Fair Dealing Week and I’m happy to share a draft of my new forthcoming chapter “Debunking the Fair Use vs. Fair Dealing Myth: Have We Had Fair Use All Along?“. Here’s the abstract: According to conventional wisdom, a fundamental difference exists between the American fair use doctrine and the Canadian (or Commonwealth) fair dealing doctrine: while American fair use can apply potentially to any purpose, Canadian fair dealing could only apply to those purposes enumerated in the statute. Accordingly, fair dealing cannot apply to dealings for other purposes even if they would otherwise be fair. This conventional wisdom …

Debunking the Fair Use vs. Fair Dealing Myth: Have We Had Fair Use All Along? Read more →

Blog, Copyright, Copyright Collectives, Stationers

Two weeks ago, Justice Phelan of the Federal Court handed Access Copyright a huge victory in its lawsuit against York University.[1] I have followed the case closely and read the parties’ submissions and I have been constantly concerned that York risked snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Unfortunately, this is what happened. The good news is that many of the Court’s fundamental findings rest on very loose foundations, that I am confident that York’s loss is only temporary, and that if York appeals the decision and handles the appeal appropriately, most, if not all, of the Court’s major findings …

Access Copyright v. York University: An Anatomy of a Predictable But Avoidable Loss Read more →

Blog, Copyright, Patent, Trademarks

When lawyers say that hard cases make bad law, they usually mean that extreme or unusual circumstances provide poor basis for making legal rule that would have to be applicable to a wider range of more common cases. Sometimes the phrase describes cases that involve a party whose hardship draws sympathy even if its legal case is weak. But sometime hard cases can make good law, when they present smart judges with difficult dilemmas and force them to think hard and deep on their ruling and its broader consequences. Yet courts don’t always choose the cases that come before them …

Google v. Equustek: Unnecessarily Hard Cases Make Unnecessarily Bad Law Read more →