Digital Copyright Canada

Today is the due date for Dr. Cockburn's third attempt at a damages report on behalf of Oracle, and just to make sure Oracle knows what needs to be submitted, Judge Alsup has issue a reminder order. (709 [PDF; Text]) The judge wants to see not only the report but also all of the related reports and studies that support it.

To recap what this third report is to address if Oracle wants to argue these points on damages:

Copied from a post to the Fair Copyright for Canada Facebook group.

Good Afternoon Samuel:

Thank you for your recent correspondence on the Bill C-11, the Copyright Modernization Act. I appreciate your comments and concerns and welcome the opportunity to respond.

Bill C-11, The Copyright Modernization Act, is an effort to modernize Canada's copyright laws and align them with international standards on the use and sharing of creative material. Once implemented, the Bill will promote innovation and creativity in Canada's arts community. It is an attempt to ensure Canada can compete in the digital economy.

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A familiar looking form letter copied from a post to the Fair Copyright for Canada Facebook group.

Good afternoon,

Minister Fletcher has asked me to respond to your email and thank you for taking the time to contact our office.

Recognizing the critical role a modern copyright regime plays in Canada’s digital economy, the Government of Canada is delivering on its commitment to introduce and seek swift passage of copyright legislation that balances the needs of creators and users.

read more

A familiar looking form letter copied from a post to the Fair Copyright for Canada Facebook group.

Hi [Constituent name]

Thank you for contacting our office regarding Bill C-11. Please accept my apologies for the delay in response.

Recognizing the critical role a modern copyright regime plays in Canada’s digital economy, the Government of Canada is delivering on its commitment to introduce and seek swift passage of copyright legislation that balances the needs of creators and users.

read more

Copied from a post to the Fair Copyright for Canada Facebook group.

Thank you for taking the time to write regarding Bill C-11, An Act to amend the Copyright Act. We appreciate having the benefit of your comments and the opportunity to let you know more about our work on a number of these legislative concerns.

New Democrats want updated copyright laws to balance the rights of artists, consumers and rights-holders. We believe that Canada needs effective legislation to ensure artists’ royalties are protected; long-distance education opportunities aren’t hindered; and that young people aren’t subject to unfair, expensive fines.

That’s why we will not be supporting Bill C-11 unless the government is willing to amend the digital lock provisions and restore royalty provisions for artists.

read more

I like Apple products. God knows I own and use enough of them. But, I hate their out-sourcing business practices and their world-wide anti-Android lawsuits. So, when I learned this morning that Motorola Mobility had won a permanent injunction against Apple’s iCloud service in Germany because of a patent violation and Motorola had followed that up with another patent victory, which has forced Apple to take all its older phones, 3G and 4 and all iPads off its German online store (German language link), I was pleased.

True, Apple can still sell its current iPhone 4S in Germany, but this is a real kick in the teeth for Apple and its patent attack ways. Apple is putting the best face it can on its defeat. An Apple spokesperson said, “Even if some iPad and iPhone models are currently not available in our online store in Germany, customers should have no problem finding these devices in our stores or from authorized dealers.” Sure. Right. The bottom line is that iCloud’s functionality has been crippled and German Apple customers will have trouble getting their favorite mobile products.

Apple iPads and some iPhones are no longer available for sale online in Germany.

As always, the patents that are being used in these cases seem dubious at best to me. In the case of iCloud, Motorola used an old pager-related patent to prevent Apple from using push technology to send e-mail automatically to iCloud enabled services. Push technology, oh yeah, no one thought of that before the 90s!

The Motorola patent that’s knocked most iPhone models and iPads off German stores covers General packet radio service (GPRS). This is the data transmission standard built on top of GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication). GPRS is used for data communication on 2G and 3G GSM networks.

This patent is also stupid. It describes a way to perform a countdown function over a 3G connection. You know, “Ten seconds to complete your download, three, two, one, download complete.” Who could ever have thought of that one!

Apple argued that this countdown mechanism wasn’t essential to data transmission. I agree, but hey, what does anyone with common sense know about software patents? Therefore, Apple tried to defeat this patent lawsuit with a Fair, Reasonable, and Non-Discriminatory terms (FRAND) defense (PDF Link), The German court didn’t buy this defense.

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, should get on the phone to Google and Samsung’s top brass and agree to stop wasting everyone’s time and money with all the “Sue you, sue me” patent lawsuits and start competing in the market place rather than in the court room. That way, the stockholders would save money-international intellectual property lawsuits aren’t cheap!–customers would get cheaper products, and all of us could all get back to comparing products instead of lawsuits.

Apple iPhone Germany store Image via Apple/ZDNet.

Related Stories:

Motorola wins iCloud injunction; iPhone, iPad pulled from online store

Can Apple really beat Android in the courts?

And this is why Apple doesn’t want to settle Android patent lawsuits

Android’s Revenge on Apple’s iPhone & iPad

Apple’s Worldwide War on Samsung and Android

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has announced the country is suspending its ratification of the Anti-Counterfeitint Trade Agreement. The announcement comes following huge protests in cities across the country.

Last week, I delivered a keynote address on copyright issues at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg. The talk focused on the activism around SOPA and assessed the global strategies employed by the U.S. and copyright lobby groups of shifting away from WIPO toward closed negotiations such as the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement.

Slovenia's Ambassador to Japan offers a full explanation for why she signed ACTA:

I signed ACTA out of civic carelessness, because I did not pay enough attention. Quite simply, I did not clearly connect the agreement I had been instructed to sign with the agreement that, according to my own civic conviction, limits and withholds the freedom of engagement on the largest and most significant network in human history, and thus limits particularly the future of our children.

The Economist reports on the growing boycott of Elsevier by thousands of academics over open access issues.

Spark, the first free software, Linux tablet is due to arrive in May 2012.

Aaron Seigo, one of the KDE’s lead developers, and a leader of the Spark free-software Linux tablet development effort, has reveled more about the Spark, including, alas, that the Spark won’t be available until May 2012.

Seigo explains, “We have a lot of pieces to coordinate, and not just technical issues like the OS image and the content add-on store, but things like packaging design, manufacturing, shipping, import, retail channel coordination. So far we’re on track, but I don’t want to offer a more precise date than ‘May’ until we pull the trigger on production.”

When it does roll down the production line, Seigo says, “the Spark will be available for order online worldwide. We will be focusing primarily on Europe first, but we will be able ship worldwide from day one. We are looking for retail partners elsewhere in the world: USA and Canada, South America, Australia, etc. to make it easier to procure.” Pricing will be around $260 or 200 Euros.

As had been speculated, the Spark will be built around the Zenithink C71. This is an inexpensive tablet with a 1GHz AMLogic ARM processor, Mali-400 GPU, 512 MB RAM, 4GB internal storage plus SD card slot, a 7? capacitive (16×9) multi-touch screen with 800 x 480 resolution, For connectivity it uses 802.11b/g Wi-Fi connectivity. It also has a 1.3 MPixels front camera, built-in microphone and stereo speakers. In addition, the tablet will come with 2 USB ports, a microSD slot, and a 3.5mm audio jack.

It will not, have in the first production run, 3G or GPS. Both will be supported by the system’s Linux operating system.

The Spark will run Mer, the community continuation of MeeGo, an embedded Linux. On top of Mer, the Spark will use KDE Plasma Active for its user interface (UI). Plasma Active runs on the traditional Linux desktop stack, including the Linux kernel, Qt, and KDE’s Plasma Framework. The UI uses Plasma Quick, a declarative markup language. This, in turn, is based on Qt Quick, an easy to use interface software development kit and framework.

If you’re a developer and you want to write for Spark, Seigo recommends QtQuick for applications targeting the Spark. There are also KDE libraries, including the Plasma framework, on the device. However, Spark is happy to support non-Qt apps. I play Battle for Wesnoth [a popular fantasy strategy game] on mine. ;) Developers will have access to the add-ons store as well, so getting your apps to Spark users will be dead simple.”

You will not be able to run Android applications on Spark though. Seigo notes though that “It is theoretically possible to package a Dalvik [Android's Java virtual machine] runtime for Plasma Active and make it available on the Spark. No one has attempted this yet, but it would make for a killer project.”

Programs for the Spark will be available, said Seigo on “the standard Mer repositories as well as the Open Build Service. However, that’s not overly person friendly (unless that person happens to be technically adept and familiar with Linux), so we are providing an add-on store from which people can easily download and install books, applications, desktop widgets and services … with more to be added with time.” Developers will be able to sell their programs to end-users on the Spark application store.

If you want to run the Spark operating system on other platforms, you can do that as well, but that’s not the Spark’s team goal. Seigo explains, “There are images for Intel based tablets as well as nVidia Tegra 2 and other ARM tablets available, and you can help by getting involved with the amazing Mer project. It is our hope that Spark will ignite interest in other vendors as well who will pick up the opportunity to increase the diversity of options. Yes, we’re looking to grow what would traditionally called competitors. We see them as co-conspirators. ;) Welcome to the world of Open.”

I’m a little disappointed that we won’t see the Spark until May, but I’m still hopeful for the project. Seigo hopes that his next blog posting on Spark will be to announce the pre-order Web site. I hope so too.

Related Stories:

Spark: The first free-software, Linux tablet is on its way

KDE takes on Android, Apple’s iOS on smartphones and tablets

Can Ubuntu Linux win on smartphones and tablets?

Textbook of the Future: The hardware

The double-edged sword facing competitors of the iPad

In Capitol Records v. ReDigi, the Court denied Google's motion for leave to file an amicus curiae brief.

February 1, 2012, order denying Google motion for leave to file amicus curiae brief

Commentary and discussion:

Hollywood Reporter
Digital Music News
Digital Trends




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Just because the Oracle v. Google case has not been set for trial (and won't be until at least the time at which Oracle provides its third attempt at a damages report) does not mean the court can't move the case along, and that is what Judge Alsup has done with his latest order. In an attempt to narrow the issues to be argued at trial, Judge Alsup's latest order (708 [PDF; Text]) focuses on the copyright issues and directs the parties to provide opening briefs in which they identify each remaining claim of copyright liability and the affirmative defenses to each such claim. In addition, the parties are to identify those issues that should be resolved by the court and those underlying facts that first need to be decided by the jury.

This order adds to a somewhat lengthy litany of filings due from each party under various orders in effect at this time. The timeline for those responses is:

Transport Canada has reportedly issued a DMCA takedown notice to Scribd over an on-the-record response it provided to a journalist. The move is particularly odd (though not unprecedented, see here and here) given the document was issued to a journalist and the government changed its crown copyright licence last year to allow for private and non-commercial public use without the need for further permission.

The reports that the music industry lobby (along with the Entertainment Software Association of Canada and the movie lobby) is seeking the inclusion of SOPA-style provisions into Bill C-11 has generated considerable discussion online and in the mainstream media (CBC, Financial Post). Yesterday, Balanced Copyright for Canada, the group backed by the music industry, fired back with several tweets claiming that opposing their reforms would benefit "illegal BitTorrent sites"and "illegal hosting sites." Leaving aside the fact that if these sites are illegal, they are by-definition already in violation of current law, the claims point to what seems likely to become a SOPA-like scare campaign that seeks to paint skeptics of CRIA demands as supporters of piracy.

These claims involve two different issues with Bill C-11. The first are the digital lock provisions, which dozens of organizations (including businesses, the Retail Council of Canada, creator groups, consumer groups, and education associations) have argued are overly restrictive. The proposed solution is to link circumvention of a digital lock with actual copyright infringement, an approach that is consistent with the WIPO Internet treaties and has been adopted by trading partners such as New Zealand and Switzerland (Canada even proposed the approach in Bill C-60). These amendments would not legalize hacking businesses, but rather ensure that the same balance that exists offline is retained in the digital environment.


The second issue involves expansion of the "enabler provision" currently proposed in Bill C-11. I have pointed out that Canadian law appears to effectively address these sites as the music industry is currently suing isoHunt for millions of dollars based on the current law. In the event that more certainty is needed, the current enabler provision would grant even more powers to rights holders to target these sites. Yet that is apparently not good enough for the music, software, and movie lobby groups, who want to expand the enabler provision to include SOPA-like liability as well as add website blocking injunctions to Canadian law. The danger with this approach is that it threatens to target perfectly legitimate websites. Arguing against an overbroad enabler provision is not siding with illegal sites, but rather ensuring that legal ones are not caught by the dragnet.

The music industry claims to be a big supporter of Bill C-11, yet few groups have demanded more changes. In fact, when it appeared before the House of Commons committee reviewing the bill, one MP noted that their demands were "substantial" and "anything but minor." Their demands include:

• expansion of the enabler provision to include SOPA-style expanded liability
• create new injunction powers to block websites
• create new injunction powers to remove content from websites
• require ISPs to implement a policy on repeat infringers that could include Internet termination
• remove the non-commercial liability cap for statutory damages
• restrict the user-generated content provision
• create new limits on personal copying exception
• create new limits on time shifting exception
• create additional limits on backup copy provision
• limit the safe harbour for ISPs
• limit the safe harbour for caching activities
• limit the safe harbour for hosting content
• limit the search engine (ILT) exception
• eliminate the ephemeral recording amendment

The music industry is seeking a huge overhaul of Bill C-32 that makes any requests for adjusting the digital lock rules look minor by comparison. As it escalates the rhetoric by claiming critics stand with piracy, it is apparent that the lobby groups' fight to blend a Canadian DMCA with a Canadian SOPA will only intensify in the weeks ahead.

Reports indicate that Industry Minister Christian Paradis could unveil the government's spectrum auction and telecom foreign ownership policies this month. My weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) provided a preview of some the key issues. While interest in spectrum auction policy is typically limited to telecom companies and business analysts, all Canadians have a stake in this decision. The available spectrum - known as the 700 MHz spectrum - opens up a host of possibilities for new innovation, competitors, and open Internet access. It is viewed as particularly valuable spectrum since it easily penetrates walls, making it ideal for delivering wireless high-speed Internet services.

Auctioning the spectrum raises a host of critical policy choices.


Topping the list is whether the government tinkers with the auction framework to help foster greater marketplace competition. Some of the large incumbents unsurprisingly favour an “open auction” with no bidding limits, but assuming Paradis concludes that some measures are needed, the choice will likely come down to either a spectrum set-aside that reserves some spectrum for new entrants and smaller companies or spectrum caps.

The last spectrum auction included a set-aside, which opened the door to a handful of new competitors such as Globalive, PublicMobile, and Mobilicity. A further set-aside may make sense since this round of new entrants may look to use the spectrum primarily for wireless broadband services, providing a potential alternative to the cable and telecom dominance.

If another set-aside proves too unwieldy, a spectrum cap, which would limit the amount of spectrum any single company could hold, may emerge as the alternative. A spectrum cap might prove effective if combined with two additional conditions.

First, the implementation of a use-it-or-lose it principle that would require all bidders to use the spectrum within a defined period. The use-it-or-lose-it approach would help guard against the hoarding of spectrum, particularly for incumbents who may overbid in the hopes of keeping new competitors out of the market.

Second, safeguards against opportunistic flipping of the spectrum with the prohibition on its sale within the first five years of the auction. The trio of policies – caps, mandatory use, and a block on transfer, may increase the number of successful bidders.

Another critical issue is who should be entitled to bid for the spectrum. The last spectrum auction featured Canadian ownership requirements, thereby limiting potential entrants. Given that Canada is one of the only developed countries that has retained significant telecom foreign ownership restrictions, the auction provides a tailor-made opportunity to eliminate the restrictions by opening the market to all bidders.

The spectrum policy decision will also determine which spectrum is available for auction and which is reserved for alternate purposes. The government has already indicated that it plans to grant some of the spectrum to law enforcement agencies, which intend to create their own emergency wireless network.

Many leading technology companies have recommended allocating some of the spectrum for unlicensed purposes. This spectrum, which would be free to anyone to use without the need for licence or government approval, could yield new services and technologies.

Beyond the technical details of the spectrum auction, the final billion-dollar question is what the government should do with the auction proceeds. While the $4 billion in proceeds from the last auction went into general revenues, this auction represents the best – perhaps only – opportunity to access billions of non-tax dollars for the digital economy.  The money could be used to support broadband initiatives, digital content creation, and digital skills programs. 

Canadian superstar Neil Young on piracy:

It doesn't affect me because I look at the internet as the new radio. I look at the radio as gone. [...] Piracy is the new radio. That's how music gets around. [...] That's the radio. If you really want to hear it, let's make it available, let them hear it, let them hear the 95 percent of it.

Ariel Katz adds his voice to the criticisms from Howard Knopf and Sam Trosow on the recent agreement between Access Copyright and two Ontario universities.

The Guardian features an exclusive interview with Kader Arif, the lead ACTA negotiator in the European Parliament who quit his position over objections that review process is a charade.