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I have submitted my response to the application filed by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) to amend the Access Copyright Interim Tariff. The AUCC’s Application draws a dim picture of monopolistic excess, abuse, and inequitable conduct.  It confirms that many of the concerns raised in the course of Access Copyright’s Application to grant the Interim Tariff have materialized.  The Board should intervene to rectify this problem. Unfortunately, while the AUCC correctly diagnosed some of the problems, it asks to Board to prescribe the wrong remedy.  I am not persuaded that amending the Interim Tariff to require …

The AUCC Diagnoses the Problem but Prescribes the Wrong Remedy Read more »

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The Copyright Board granted my request to extend the deadline for responding to the AUCC’s Application to amend the interim tariff.  No word yet on my second request to invite the Commissioner of Competition to intervene.  Here’s the Board’s decision: NOTICE OF THE BOARD Mr. Katz’s request of June 15, 2011 to extend the time for responding to the AUCC application regarding transactional licences is granted. Accordingly, today’s deadline to reply to AUCC’s application is extended in the following way: Objectors’ response on the AUCC’s application: by no later than Monday, June 27, 2011. ACCC will be allowed to add to …

Copyright Board Grants Extension Read more »

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Last week, the AUCC requested the Copyright Board to amend the Interim Tariff and order Access Copyright to grant transactional licenses (see Howard Knopf’s posts for more details, here and here).  The Board ordered all parties to respond by tomorrow. Earlier today I submitted two applications regarding this matter.  I asked the Board to provide more time to respond to the AUCC application.  I also asked the Board to request the Commissioner of Competition to intervene in this case. Here’s what I wrote to the Board:

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I have posted a new paper on SSRN.  The paper is based on a presentation that I gave at the Exhaustion and First Sale in IP Conference held at Santa Clara Law School last November.  Here’s the abstract: The first sale doctrine (or exhaustion) limits the exclusive rights that survive the initial authorized sale of an item protected by such rights.  The first sale doctrine has always been under pressure by owners of intellectual property rights, and courts have never been able to precisely outline its contours, or fully articulate its rationale. Recently, and somewhat counter-intuitively, insights borrowed from modern …

The First Sale Doctrine: What Antitrust Law Can (and Cannot) Teach Read more »

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The Conservative Party of Canada decided to turn a copyright controversy into an election issue. Last week it launched the ipodtax.ca website, slamming the opposition parties’ support of extending the private copying levy to devices such as iPods. The Tories’ claim is not factually accurate, as the Liberals currently oppose such expansion of the levy, and the main point of the campaign does not seem to be genuine concern about copyright. Rather, the issue is mainly an excuse/opportunity for promoting fear about general tax increases (“It’s just the beginning of the Coalition’s high tax agenda”), however, since I’m not a …

The iPod Tax, the iTunes Tax and the Notepad Tax Read more »