March 2010

A matter of perspective
Allegations against artist David Burdeny spark debate about the hazy line between inspiration and appropriation.

Supreme Court Takes ‘Informational Privacy’ Case
The U.S. Supreme Court is agreeing to decide how much personal information the federal bureaucracy may acquire on its workers.

Vancouver restaurateur sues over Avatar story
A Vancouver restaurant owner is filing a copyright infringement lawsuit over the mega-blockbuster Avatar.

Four in five believe Web access a fundamental right
Of the 27,000 surveyed, more than half agreed that the “Internet should never be regulated by any level of government anywhere.”

U.S. Army bomb expert sues arguing ‘The Hurt Locker’ was based on him
Master Sgt. Jeffrey Sarver claims that the main character in the film was based on him.

Rescuecom drops trademark suit against Google
PC support company Rescuecom has dropped a trademark lawsuit against Google.

Court Sees DVR Case TiVo’s Way
TIVA has won its long-running patent case against sister companies Dish Network and EchoStar.

Lords’ change to copyright law could see content sites blocked
A proposed change to UK copyright law could force ISPs to block access to content sites such as YouTube.

Speech from the Throne
The Canadian government’s Speech from the Throne included a focus on intellectual property and the digital economy.

Demand for standalone intellectual property insurance outstrips capacity
There is growing interest in buying standalone intellectual property insurance, Lloyd’s of London says.

Justices Reinstate Settlement With Writers
The US Supreme Court resurrected a possible settlement in a class-action lawsuit brought by freelance writers.

Apple Sues Nexus One Maker HTC
Apple has sued HTC, the Taiwanese company that is the largest maker of smartphones running Google’s Android operating system.

German high court says telecom, e-mail data cannot be retained
Germany’s highest court overturned a law allowing authorities to retain data for help in tracking criminal networks.

Postal Service must pay sculptor
The U.S. Postal Service should compensate the sculptor of a column of marching soldiers at the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington for an image on a 37-cent stamp.

Severity of Chinese Google attack revealed
Investigators from US security company iSec Partners say at least 33 other companies were hit by the “Aurora” exploit, and probably more than 100.

British Library creates archive of defunct Web
Aim is to preserve snapshots of ever-changing Internet for posterity.

 

February 2010

Facebook wins US patent for ‘news feeds’
Facebook has won a US patent on news feeds behind the kinds of real-time updates that make social-networking websites a hit with users.

Microsoft wins legal battle against spammers
Computer giant Microsoft has emerged triumphant in its battle against a major source of internet spam.

EMI Appeals Men At Work Plagiarism Ruling
EMI has appealed against a court ruling that found Men at Work had plagiarized a children’s song in their ’80s hit “Down Under.”

The Digital Dictatorship
It’s fashionable to hold up the Internet as the road to democracy and liberty in countries like Iran, but it can also be a very effective tool for quashing freedom.

Xerox sues Google, Yahoo over search patents
Xerox Corp has sued Google Inc and Yahoo Inc, accusing them of infringing the document management company’s patents related to Internet search.

Google bosses convicted in Italy
An Italian court has convicted three Google executives in a trial over a video showing an autistic teenager being bullied.

Medical Paper Trail Takes Electronic Turn
A recent New York Times piece discusses benefits and concerns of electronic medical records.

School Webcam Spying Holds Lessons for Businesses
The Lower Merion School District in Pennsylvania is getting a crash course on the limits of what is acceptable when monitoring computer activity.

Textbooks That Professors Can Rewrite Digitally
Readers can modify content on the Web, so why not in books?

RIM hit with more patent woes
The U.S.-based International Trade Commission is mulling a ban on imports of Research in Motion Inc.’s signature BlackBerry device because of patent complaints by Motorola Inc. and Eastman Kodak Co.

Google book settlement draws fire in court
The disparate and dissenting constituencies that showed up to federal court to comment on Google’s plan to create a digital library illustrated just how polarizing and far reaching the effort has become.

Broadcasters Association to shut down
CAB Chairman Elmer Hildebrand says local TV operators, cable companies could not reach common ground.

Microsoft/Yahoo partnership cleared by EU and U.S.
Microsoft Corp and Yahoo Inc said they have won unconditional approval from regulators in the United States and Europe for a planned search deal.

Rogers stands behind its Internet advertising as ‘fastest and most reliable’
Rogers says it will defend advertising claims that its Internet service is the “fastest and most reliable” in Atlantic Canada.

Privacy watchdog rebukes Google for Buzz
Google says it wouldn’t be practical to brief Canada’s privacy commissioner on every product launch.

eBay loses another suit over Louis Vuitton brand
The Paris District Court ruled that eBay was liable for harming the reputation of LVM’s trademarks, company name, and domain name.

Nortel weighs sale of patents
Industry experts estimate the wireless assets could fetch as much as $1-billion if a bidding war is triggered.

U.S. announces intellectual property watchdog
US Justice Department creates intellectual property task force.

Action needed to recognize the value of intellectual property for Canada
Canadian businesses and governments both undervalue the potential of intellectual property (IP) to contribute to Canada’s economic prosperity, according to report authored by Dr. Ruth M. Corbin. 

International Patent Filings Dip in 2009 amid Global Economic Downturn
WIPO has released 2009 patent filing statistics.

Jacobs Vs Hardy
Marc Jacobs is locking horns with Ed Hardy over the design of one of its handbags.

Macmillan books coming back to Amazon
After a week-long absence, books published by Macmillan are available for purchase on Amazon.com.

FBI wants website visits recorded
The FBI is pressing US ISPs to record which websites customers visit and retain those logs for two years.

IOC will allow Australians’ boxing kangaroo flag to stay
The cheeky flag will keep flying proudly from the team’s balcony at the Vancouver 2010 athletes village.

Cavoukian’s order to encrypt health data not enough
Security vendor says Ontario’s Privacy Commissioner Ann Cavoukian’s mandate that all 36 Ontario health authorities encrypt data in motion is barely enough to avoid data loss.

Google book deal still troubles U.S.
The U.S. Justice Department still thinks a proposal to give Google the digital rights to millions of hard-to-find books threatens to stifle competition and undermine copyright laws.

’80s hit Down Under copies kids’ song: court
Australian band Men at Work copied a well-known children’s campfire song in its 1980s hit Down Under and owes the owner years of royalties, a court ruled Thursday.

Rulings Leave Online Student Speech Rights Unresolved
Do American students have First Amendment rights beyond the schoolyard gates?

ISP cleared of copyright infringement
An Australian court has ruled that an internet service provider cannot be responsible for illegal downloading.

Where is Canada’s plan for the digital age?
Marc Garneau asks this question in an opinion piece in the National Post.

Judge hears arguments over rights to gene patents
A judge weighed whether a lawsuit should proceed that seeks to invalidate a company’s patents on two genes.

Italy Plans to Extend TV Rules to Web Videos
Italy’s government is forging ahead with plans to extend television-broadcasting regulations to Web sites that host videos.

U.S. patent office gets boost in Obama budget
USPTO would get budget increase, keep fees it collects.

Appeals court lets Google Street View suit continue
A US federal appeals court has reinstated a lawsuit that a Pennsylvania couple filed against Google for taking a panoramic photograph of their secluded home.

January 2010

Super (Bowl) fight heats up over who owns ‘Who Dat’
Some T-shirt makers were hit with cease-and-desist letters from the NFL demanding that they stop selling shirts with the traditional cheer of New Orleans Saints fans.

RIAA preps for third trial in music piracy case
Defendant Thomas-Rasset ready to fight to the ‘bitter end,’ says defense lawyer. 

Supreme Court limits Apotex patent-suit damages
The Canadian Supreme Court has refused to hear appeal of Apotex’s dispute with Merck over sales of osteoporosis drug.

Canada’s Privacy Commissioner Probes Facebook Over Users Private Information
Canada is again taking on Facebook and once again privacy issues are at the heart of its dispute with the social networking behemoth.

Nike and partners launch The GreenXchange
What the Xchange is and why it is such a good idea.

China court sides with Baidu in music piracy case
A Chinese court has ruled in favour of the nation’s top search engine Baidu, saying its links to music downloads do not constitute piracy.

Conan O’Brien’s Comedy Characters Are Caught in Contract Drama
Conan O’Brien will relinquish the intellectual property rights to several characters created during his 17 years at NBC.

Apple Tries to Wrangle iPad Trademark
The fight for the iPad trademark could be heating up.

Privacy official sounds ‘urgent’ alarm
Privacy Commissioner David Loukidelis resigned to take job as deputy attorney general.

Judge Cuts $2M Penalty in MN Song-Sharing Case
Federal judge reduces $2M penalty for Minnesota woman who shared songs on Internet.

COC trademark watchdogs eyeing heart group’s logo
It may not be a medal sport, but trademark protection is an integral part of the Olympics.

Google, Verizon Cooperate On Net Neutrality
Google and Verizon joined forces to submit a joint letter to the Federal Communications Commission.

UK gov cuts ribbon on public datasets site
The Cabinet Office has officially taken the wraps off its data.gov.uk web portal, which is intended to serve as a central repository for British citizens to gain access to some government data.

China to Scan Text Messages to Spot ‘Unhealthy Content’
Cellular companies in Beijing and Shanghai have been told to suspend text services to cellphone users who are found to have sent messages with “illegal or unhealthy content”.

Eric Baptiste named CEO of SOCAN
The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada announced its board of directors has named Eric Baptiste to serve as the organization’s CEO.

Privacy commissioner looking at how Facebook gets data
Canada’s privacy commissioner is launching a series of public consultations to investigate how personal data is being mined online through social networking sites.

Privacy concerns persist on national e-health plan
Concerns have been raised with the Australian government’s proposed Healthcare Identifiers regime.

Courts to rule on fan-created music videos
A number of cases winding their way through the US courts may bring a bit of clarity in 2010 to one particularly fuzzy area of the law: fan-created online videos that contain music.

Faking it: Why we hurt the brands we love
Is luxury goods marketing feeding the frenzy for knockoffs?

Origins of Avatar questioned
Smash hit Avatar has been likened to popular fantasy books written by Soviets Arkady and Boris Strugatsky.

China says ways to resolve Google issue, U.S. cautious
China sought on Friday to play down a threat by Google to quit the country.

Ontario privacy commissioner orders ’strong encryption’ of health records
Ontario’s privacy commissioner has ordered the Durham Health Region to make sure computerized health records are “strongly encrypted” to avoid another embarrassing loss of health information.

Ministers offer concessions on copyright changes
Ministers have given a concession over what critics claimed were “draconian” powers which would enable them to crack down on online copyright infringement.

The Madness of Crowds and an Internet Delusion
Jaron Lanier, an early proponent of the Internet’s open culture, is now examining the downsides.

Microsoft Word injunction goes into effect
Although Microsoft was largely ready for an injunction that went into effect on Monday against selling certain versions of Microsoft Office, there were a few visible impacts.

France wants to forget; Facebook doesn’t
The French are debating a new law that would give Internet users the option to have old online data about themselves deleted.

Spain presents new Internet anti-piracy law
The Spanish government presented a proposed new Internet anti-piracy law to shut down websites offering illegal downloads.

More businesses test Olympic trademark rules
With tens of thousands of potential customers coming to town, every Vancouver business wants to be associated with the Olympics.

Authors want out of Google deal
A group of writers wants Canada out of the Google Books settlement and has started an online petition.

Climate change pranksters accuse Canada of wiping out 4,500 websites
The orchestrators of a climate-change hoax that involved crafting fake Environment Canada websites have accused the Canadian government of temporarily shutting down thousands of other websites.

Digital search revives rights debate
Body scanners set to be installed at airports across Canada are an invasion of privacy, an international privacy advocate says.

Mexican government says Starbucks owes for using pre-Hispanic images on coffee mugs
Mugs show images of the Aztec calendar stone and the Pyramid of the Moon.

Apple Resolved iPhone Trademark Conflict in China
The company that owned the trademark “i-phone” in China has yielded it to Apple.

Ten for the Next Ten
Bono’s 10 ideas for the next decade includes a comment on intellectual property.

Mosaid signs new patent agreement with global electronics giant Samsung
Ottawa based patent licensing company Mosaid Technologies Inc. says it has entered into a standstill agreement with Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.

Digital piracy hits the e-book industry
Dan Brown’s “The Lost Symbol” was downloaded for free more than 100,000 times within its first days on sale.

U.S. issues standards to spur e-health records
U.S. health officials released standards for electronic medical records, seeking to spur the technology in hopes of cutting health costs and reducing medical errors.

 

December 2009

Google loses domain dispute to Canadian startup
Google lost a domain dispute to Oakville, Ontario based Groovle, a website that allows users to upload photos and create a customized online portal.

Movie Studios Win Copyright Lawsuit Against IsoHunt
In the latest of a series of rulings against peer-to-peer companies, a U.S. federal judge has decided that IsoHunt infringed copyright by intentionally encouraging piracy.

U.S. appeals court backs T.O. firm over Microsoft
Microsoft has lost an appeal against a small Toronto company in a patent fight that cost the world’s biggest software maker $290 million (U.S.) and forced it to alter its ubiquitous MS Word program.

Copyright claim based on taping fashion show
A women’s clothing company is suing Canadian Broadcasting Company after a reporter for the television station snuck into a New York fashion show without an invitation and taped the event.

Dr. Ficsor: An invitation to Canada to join the international community by ratifying the WIPO Internet Treaties
Dr. Mihály Ficsor comments on Canada and the WIPO Internet Treaties.

The five legal cases that defined the year in music
Almost a decade after the major labels launched their legal assault on Napster, courts are still writing the rules of the road for the music business’s digital future.

Psystar lawyer claims company not shutting down permanently
Contrary to previous reports that Mac clone maker Psystar would be closing its doors following its loss in court, lawyers for the company said the company will not be shutting down for good.

Trade court rules for Kodak in patent fight
Eastman Kodak Co has won a preliminary fight with Samsung Electronics, which the camera giant had accused of infringing its digital camera patents.

Global pact on Braille books nears
An international accord to expand the range of books and other copyright materials accessible to blind people has come a step closer.

Microsoft shuts site amid buzz about plagiarism
Software giant’s new Chinese microblogging site contains code largely copied from a Canadian company.

Bell can’t make ‘most reliable’ claim: B.C. court
Canada no longer has a “most reliable network” after a B.C court ordered Bell Mobility to remove all of its advertising containing such a claim.

Patent pooling deal to reduce costs of AIDS drugs
The international health funding agency UNITAID has approved a plan to make treatment for AIDS more widely available in poor countries by pooling patents for drugs.

George Lucas loses court appeal over Star Wars costume copyright
George Lucas’s empire lost a multimillion-pound legal battle with the British creator of the Star Wars stormtrooper helmets.

Patent lawsuit against Desire2Learn settled, ending three-year battle
Desire2Learn and Blackboard have announced that they reached an agreement to licence each other’s e-learning patent portfolios.

Court to review employer access to worker messages
The US Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case that may decide how much privacy workers have when they send text messages from their employers’ accounts.

Non-commercial P2P file sharing is not fair use says court in Sony BMG v Tenenbaum case
A U.S. district court has issued a wide area injunction in the Tenenbaum case.

European Commission Welcomes Ratification of the WIPO Copyright Treaties
The European Union and its Member States ratified the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty, the so-called “Internet” Treaties.

DIY Book Scanners Turn Your Books Into Bytes
Wired reports on Daniel Reetz, a graduate student, who has created a DIY book scanner.

IP Australia unveils patent discussion web site
Australia is running a twelve month peer-to-patent trial.

China closes file-sharing sites over copyright concerns
China has closed one of the country’s largest file-sharing sites.

RIM expands further into China, plans to develop new devices
RIM’s BlackBerry devices will face familiar competition in China and will also encounter new foes in the knockoffs of its own devices.

UK makes online safety lessons for kids compulsory
Britain is to make online safety lessons for children over 5 compulsory under a new scheme.

Websites barred from repackaging MLS data
Ontario court rules against downloading of Multiple Listing Service information, then offering it to the public.

Groups Far Apart on Online Privacy Oversight
A roundtable on privacy and technology was held by the US Federal Trade Commission.

EU moves towards common patent system
European ministers say they have agreed on a plan to introduce a common EU-wide patent system.

Wikipedia ordered to reveal identity of ‘editor’ accused of blackmailing mother and child
A businesswoman smeared by an anonymous contributor to Wikipedia has won a legal battle in the UK to have her accuser unmasked.

Supreme Court tightens Internet luring rules
Decision says offenders need not meet intended victims to be convicted of luring children for sexual purposes.

Social networking site updates privacy policy, deletes regional networks
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has decided to scrap Facebook’s regional networks and the privacy settings that accompanied them.

Canadian copyright law to trump ACTA, Clement says
Industry Minister Tony Clement, responding to accusations that an international anti-counterfeiting agreement will criminalize everyday activity by Canadians, says any such pact will be “subservient” to copyright rules created domestically.

Rogers launches Hulu clone
Rogers is taking a page from Hulu with the launch of its own online hub for television and movies.

Edmonton firm sues gaming giants
Edmonton company is suing Nintendo Co., Sony Corp. and Microsoft Corp. over claims their video-game systems infringe patents related to controllers.

USPTO to use Indian traditional Knowledge library
Indian government to allow US patent examiners access to its database of traditional knowledge.

November 2009

Milan Prosecutor Seeks To Jail Google Execs For User-Generated Video
Italian law enforcement officials are seeking jail terms for four Google executives charged with violating the country’s privacy laws by allegedly allowing the hosting of an offensive video.

Apple sues power adapter knockoff maker
Hot on the heels of its win against Mac clone-maker Psystar, Apple is suing another company that’s making knockoffs of its products, but this time its power adapters.

BitTorrent Site Mininova Cuts Service
Leading Netherlands-based BitTorrent site Mininova has disabled its copyright-infringing service with immediate effect, following a judgment by a Dutch court.

Judge: Rogers can’t claim ‘most reliable’
Rival Telus wins temporary injunction as B.C. court rules against Rogers advertisement of ‘most reliable network’.

Klausner sues Motorola, RIM over visual voicemail
Inventor Judah Klausner filed suit against Motorola Inc. and Research In Motion, alleging infringement of technology patents related to visual voicemail.

Quebec woman’s Facebook insurance battle highlights need for online prudence
A Quebec woman says she lost her long-term disability benefits because of photos that appeared on Facebook.

Tories to introduce new child pornography laws
The Conservatives plan to introduce a new bill that would compel Internet service providers (ISPs) to report child pornography to the police.

Google Book Settlement Gets Preliminary Approval
Hearing set for February 18, 2010.

Graffiti: urban nuisance or work of art?
Panel tackles the question of intellectual property rights in street art.

High Court Punts Washington Redskins Trademark Case
The US Supreme Court has chosen not to hear an appeal in the Pro Football v. Harjo case.

DNA Testing Firm Goes Bankrupt; Who Gets the Data?
An Icelandic firm that offers private DNA testing to customers has filed for bankruptcy in the U.S., raising privacy concerns about the fate of customer DNA samples and records.

High school ditches text books for digital readers
A Toronto-based private school says it is the first in the country to lighten students’ load by ditching textbooks and giving them each a digital reader instead.

WIPO Launches Enhanced Patent Information Service
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has launched an enhanced online patent information service that will improve public access to information on patents filed and granted around the world.

FreeCreditReport.com Wins 1,017 Domains in Single Arbitration
Big win for credit report company.

OHRLP – Focus on copyright consultations
The Osgoode Hall Review of Law and Policy has recently released a special issue of the Review that aims to help elucidate the key areas of debate surrounding Canadian copyright reform.

Google, Authors try to answer book deal concerns
Google and the Authors Guild filed a new version of a deal in hopes of answering antitrust and copyright concerns in the United States and overseas.

Winnie the Pooh legal battle no child’s tale
The fictional offspring of the most famous animal in Canadian history — a certain black bear named Winnipeg — has landed at the centre of a renewed legal battle.

EU objects to Sun-Oracle deal
European antitrust regulators have formally objected to Oracle Corp.’s $7.4-billion US takeover of Sun Microsystems Inc., citing concerns that the takeover could hurt competition in the database market.

Twitter, Internet undermine Canada election rules
The federal elections agency is struggling to enforce a rule that bans the general broadcasting of voting results until all the polls have closed.

Murdoch bets on survival without Google
News Corp. chief believes revenue lost from pulling out of search engine can be recouped through subscriptions.

Toyota Apologizes For Using Flickr Photos In SUV Ad
Toyota U.S.A. has removed a photo feature from one of its Web sites and apologized to Flickr photographers whose images appeared on the site without their permission.

Justices Question Patent for Abstract Business Innovations
Supreme Court justices on Monday took up a case that could reshape the realm of what can be patented.

Ambush marketers fuel Olympic ad concerns
Marketing turf wars sparking debate over the rights of official Winter Games sponsors.

Hill Times Policy Briefing- Communications and Intellectual Property
The Hill Times features a piece on copyright reform by Professor Giuseppina D’Agostino.

Experts meet to hash out web privacy rules
Privacy experts from around the world met in Madrid for a conference which aims to arrive at a global standard for the protection of personal data.

 

October 2009

Everybody in the Pool of Green Innovation
Several major corporations have taken inspiration from the open-source software movement and are experimenting with forums for sharing environmentally friendly innovations.

Give judges, not agencies, more powers: privacy czar
Canada’s assistant privacy commissioner says giving judges – not security agencies – more powers might be the way to keep pace with fast-changing communication technology.

Innovation Spending Looks Recession-Resistant
Companies may have chopped capital investment, marketing and payrolls during the steep recession, but new studies suggest that research and development spending and patent activity held up remarkably well.

Lord Mandelson confident filesharing rules will work as well as French policy
UK Business secretary said he expects parliament to approve latest plans to stamp out illegal filesharing.

Tough identity theft law passed
The federal government has passed tough new legislation to give police and courts added powers to fight identity theft.

Facebook to memorialize deceased user profiles
Social network says these accounts will be different from regular profiles and can be created by request from friends or family.

Nokia lawsuit could cost Apple $1 billion says analysts
Nokia is likely searching for new revenue with the ligation.

Internet shakeup looms with multilingual addresses
The Internet is about to get more accessible for millions worldwide with the imminent approval of a new multilingual address system that uses Asian and Arabic scripts.

Net neutrality faces political, legal hurdles
The battle is far from over as the yet-to-be-written regulation in the US is already facing Congressional opposition and will also likely be challenged in court.

France approves broadside to digital pirates
France will send out the first warnings to digital pirates early next year after passing tough legislation allowing for Internet access to be cut for those who illegally download movies and music.

CRTC issues net neutrality rules
Big telecommunications companies such as Bell and Rogers can interfere with internet traffic only as a last resort, the CRTC says.

Obama Copyright Dispute Takes Strange Turn
The legal saga over the red, white and blue “hope” image of President Obama has taken an odd twist.

Are we due a wave of book piracy?
Will the global launch of Amazon’s much-hyped e-book reader prompt a wave of book piracy?

Verizon Not Liable for Ringtone Performance Fee
A New York district court sided with Verizon and ruled that it does not have to pay a performance fee in addition to the mechanical fee it already pays.

An Olympic city’s delicate fight against ambush marketing
It’s no fun trying to be the policing authority to make sure that Olympics sponsors get their money’s worth.

Senate panel votes to bar drug “pay for delay”
A Senate panel voted to bar drug companies from paying generic drugmakers to delay bringing their cheaper medicines to market.

Raptors’ Chris Bosh wins court battle for domain names
Toronto Raptors forward Chris Bosh is offering to return nearly 800 domain names to their rightful owners.

Gag on Guardian reporting MP’s Trafigura question lifted
The question from Paul Farrelly MP which was subject to a gagging order related to the Trafigura toxic waste scandal.

The evolution of e-privacy
Mobile muddle; Courts are becoming more sympathetic to employee expectations.

Drugmakers strike back at generics
An article in the National Post reports on tendering systems for off-patent drugs in Canada.

Legal Fight Looms Over Tavern on the Green
City wants sole ownership of $19 million name.

Facebook draws legal fire on patent claims
Two separate lawsuits say Facebook copied proprietary technology.

Apple Takes Bite Out Of Woolies Over Logo
Apple is demanding that an Australian supermarket chain withdraw its logo because it looks too much like the technology giant’s design.

B.C. privacy head pans Google’s Street View
Canadians can now cruise their streets on Google’s Street View, which went live in several Canadian cities.

Madonna wins damages over wedding photos
Madonna accepted undisclosed damages for invasion of privacy and infringement of copyright over “purloined” pictures of her wedding.

Canadians must take more responsibility for online lives
Jennifer Stoddart, Canada’s privacy commissioner, tabled her annual report on private-sector privacy law.

Bloggers must reveal ties behind endorsements
A series of US Federal Trade Commission guideline updates require bloggers to reveal freebies or pay related to online commentary.

MSN launches personal health management service
MSN released its beta version of a new online health information management service, including widgets to upload and organize data stored in HealthVault accounts.

“Turning Point” At WIPO Pulls Traditional Knowledge Debate Out At Eleventh Hour
After a year of stalled deliberations on the issue of protecting traditional knowledge, delegates at the World Intellectual Property Organization General Assemblies found a compromise text.

Charity sued by Jackson’s estate
A charity has been sued by Michael Jackson’s estate, which says it wrongly implied the singer supported its work.

More autonomy, international oversight for ICANN
The United States on Wednesday loosened its control over the private sector corporation that administers the Internet, granting it greater autonomy and opening it up to international oversight.

September 2009

Debate rages over anonymous blogs
Target of toxic posts wants Google to reveal blogger’s identity.

Retired N.F.L. Player Jim Brown Loses Lawsuit Against Video Game Publisher
A lawsuit filed by Jim Brown against the video-game publisher Electronic Arts for depicting a player similar to Brown in its Madden NFL video games has been dismissed.

Secret Service investigating Facebook poll on Obama
The social networking site Facebook pulled a third-party application that allows users to create polls.

Professor wins fees from Joyce estate
A Stanford professor who battled James Joyce’s estate for the right to quote family documents will get $240,000 from the estate for her legal fees.

Obama Appoints Victoria Espinel as First Copyright Czar
President Obama announced the appointment of Victoria A. Espinel to the newly created position.

Mosaid eyes Nortel patents
Ottawa-based company sees licencing opportunities, even among the more obscure assets in the bankrupt firm.

Canada Research Chairs program awards $1.4 million to York
Funding to support Professor Rosemary Coombe’s research in socio-legal studies.

EU adviser backs Google in trademark suit
An adviser to the European Union has sided with Google in the company’s battle with Louis Vuitton and others over alleged trademark infringement.

Heirs of comic book artist seek the rights to Marvel characters
Filing by children of Jack Kirby comes weeks after Disney bought Marvel.

Facebook shuts down Beacon
Thorny marketing tool that tracks users’ activities on other websites faced constant criticism.

Google Espresso promises on-demand book printing
Google’s new Espresso printing presses can download and print a book in the time it takes to make a cup of coffee.

WIPO: Patents, Trademarks Tied To Economic Cycles But Crisis Impact Uneven
WIPO presented data showing the positive correlation between patent applications and economic cycles.

Justice Department tells judge Google’s digital book deal raises significant legal concerns
The U.S. Justice Department advised a federal judge that a proposed legal settlement giving Google Inc. the digital rights to millions of out-of-print books threatens to thwart competition and drive up prices unless it’s revised.

Labatt-Molson drama like a plot from Twin Peaks
Labatt has been hit with a suit that accuses it of infringing on Coors Light with a new ad campaign for its Kokanee brand.

Revised French download law passes lower house
France’s disputed Internet piracy law, which would allow authorities to disconnect repeat illegal downloaders, passed the lower house of parliament.

Stunned film, music sectors react to Veoh decision
Copyright owners in the film and music sectors were stunned by the news that Veoh cannot be held liable for acts of copyright infringement committed by users.

$358 Million Jury Verdict Against Microsoft Overturned
Judge sets jury verdict aside as unreasonable.

Ellen Degeneres Show Faces Music Lawsuit
A consortium of major record labels has filed suit against The Ellen DeGeneres Show saying their copyrights to more than 1,000 songs were violated when they were played on the show without permission.

Copyright Office slams Google Book deal, Google opens up
Marybeth Peters, the Register of Copyrights, explained to Congress her office’s objections to what Google hoped to do.

Federal Court backs inventor Bruce Gray’s intellectual property claim
The public role of universities and the freedom of their researchers have been given strong emphasis in an Australian Federal Court judgment upholding a surgery professor’s ownership claim to his anti-cancer inventions.

McDonald’s loses trademark fight in Malaysia
U.S. fast food giant McDonald’s lost an eight-year trademark battle to prevent a local restaurant named McCurry from using the ‘Mc’ prefix.

Google Books offers concessions to European publishers
Company announced plans as a European Commission hearing in Brussels listened to advocates and critics of Google Books.

Century 21 Canada does battle with Rogers
The Financial Post reports that Century 21 Canada is suing Zoocasa Inc., for “scraping” information from sites provided by Century 21 brokers and representatives.

Microsoft wins Word reprieve
Company can continue selling the software in U.S. pending appeal of patent infringement case.

Inventor sues 3 universities over mustard seed patent
Three Pacific Northwest universities face a federal lawsuit that accuses them of using, without permission, a Canadian inventor’s patented process to build a better yellow mustard seed.

Should Canada impose an iPod levy?
In a video round table discussion hosted by ITBusiness.ca, the idea of an iPod levy being used to collect money for Canadian musicians is debated.

Microsoft pushes for single global patent system
A senior lawyer at Microsoft is calling for the creation of a global patent system to make it easier and faster for corporations to enforce their intellectual property rights around the world.

 

August 2009

Group that represents Canadian songwriters suing company that operates XM Radio
CSI, a group that represents Canadian songwriters and music publishers is taking the company that operates XM Radio to court, alleging it has defaulted on its royalty obligations.

Louis Vuitton wins $32.4 million in damages from Web host over knock-offs
A California jury has awarded Louis Vuitton $32.4 million in damages in a key test of ISP liability in Web counterfeiting.

Brick Brewing slapped with lime lager lawsuit
Anheuser-Busch InBev alleges discount brewer’s Red Baron Lime infringes trademarks of Bud Light Lime.  Professor Carys Craig provides commentary in the article.

Cyber Bullying Case Officially Dismissed for Vagueness
The judge who oversaw the Lori Drew cyber bullying case has released his final ruling.

Open Source Textbook Service Sees Interest Jump
A United States publisher of open source college textbooks has seen interest in its service increase.

Facebook agrees to privacy changes
Facebook has agreed to changes that will bring the social-networking site into compliance with Canada’s privacy law.

One of the web’s most-hyped sites, Spotify, could be in Canada soon: founders
The founders of Spotify say it could soon be available in Canada, offering music fans an unlimited buffet of streamable tunes, free and legally.

CIPO consultations announced
CIPO has announced an official consultation to collect public feedback on Proposed Amendments to Patent Rules and Trade-Marks Regulations.

Ruling by court panel sends ownership of Unix OS copyright to trial
A US federal appeals court on Monday reversed a judge’s decision that granted the copyright of the Unix computer operating system to Novell Inc.

Britain moves to curb filesharing
Britain’s government is looking to temporarily cut off internet access for people who download music and films illegally.

New owner says Pirate Bay will plunder no more
Swedish company pledges that the bane of copyright holders worldwide has a new model to facilitate legal file sharing.

Yahoo wins appeal of music-streaming case
A three-judge panel ruled Friday that Yahoo will not have to pay up every time it plays a song on its Internet radio service, affirming an earlier verdict.

Method Patents Ruling May Benefit Tech Firms
The Federal Circuit for the US Court of Appeals has ruled that 271(f) applies only to apparatus patents, not method patents.

Keep on tweeting in the free world; Twitter denied trademark
Efforts by web phenom Twitter to trademark the word “tweet” suffered a setback.

Google Rivals Will Oppose Book Settlement
Amazon, Microsoft and Yahoo are planning to join a coalition of nonprofit groups, individuals and library associations to oppose the Google books settlement

Petition spurs CRTC debate
A petition to dissolve the CRTC has kicked off a debate online over the regulator’s role and its efficacy.

Missouri woman charged with cyberbullying
Woman is the first person charged under a new Missouri state law.

Facebook prepares privacy response
Social site working with team from Canadian privacy commissioner’s office on proposals.

China To Appeal WTO Ruling
China will appeal a World Trade Organization ruling that orders an end to state control of movie, book and music imports.

ICANN cuts out domain tasting scam
Quick registration of profitable sites for ads now too expensive, says internet authority.

Microsoft-i4i battle brings IP issues into focus
Ruling against Microsoft Corp. in a U.S. courtroom leveled a permanent injunction prohibiting the software giant from selling or importing its popular Word program.

Online censorship on rise in Middle East, North Africa
Governments in the Middle East and North Africa are investing in censorship tools at the same time as they expand their media infrastructure, according to a new study of online censorship.

RealNetworks loses critical ruling in RealDVD case
A U.S. federal court has found enough evidence to decide that RealDVD, the software that enables users to copy DVDs and store digital duplicates on a hard drive, violates U.S. copyright law.

The Audacity of the Google Book Search Settlement
Professor Pamela Samuelson comments on the settlement in a piece on the Huffington Post.

Microsoft barred from selling Word in U.S.
Canadian firm wins latest round of patent dispute.

Privacy Plan for Federal Web Sites Gets Mixed Reviews
The Obama administration plans to ease rules that effectively ban the use of “cookies” to track people who use government Web sites.

Canada’s copyright conundrum – how to balance rights of creators and consumers
Lobbyists, lawyers, librarians and literary groups are speaking out on what they want Canada’s new copyright legislation look like.

Beatles copyrights in McCartney’s (distant) sights
Paul McCartney may be able to start reclaiming the copyrights to the lucrative Beatles catalog.

Writer accuses Twilight author of plagiarism
U.S. author Stephenie Meyer has been accused of plagiarism in the fourth novel in her popular Twilight series.

Will Nortel prevail as a patent licensing firm?
Nortel Networks Corpis reviewing a number of options for the parts of the company that are not for sale.

Russia-Georgia Conflict Blamed for Twitter, Facebook Outages
The theories behind who and what attacked Twitter and Facebook are flying like so many tweets across the Internet.

Copyright reform vital to artists
The Toronto Star has published an opinion piece on copyright reform from ACTRA’s president Ferne Downey.

Privacy is in the product
Policing the Wild Web: Keeping our secrets secret.

Ignatieff joins Writers’ Union of Canada
With the issue of copyright reform at the forefront of the federal government’s agenda once again, the Writers’ Union of Canada has enlisted Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff as its newest member.

Europe well-placed to profit from digital economy: study
The growth of the Internet and the emergence of a new computer-savvy generation leaves Europe well-placed to capitalise on the digital economy, the European Commission said Tuesday.

C61 a political hot potato
Revamping of Canada’s copyright laws is back on the agenda.

July 2009

Wal-Mart Contests Use of Name by Canadian Union
Wal-Mart Canada has asked a Quebec court to stop a union Web site from using the company’s name, color schemes, a variation of its logo, a parody of its slogan and even photographs of people wearing blue vests.

EBay sellers warned to pay taxes
Money earned online with auction sites such as eBay is taxable just like regular income, said Canada’s minister of national revenue.

Victory for Whiter Shade organist
Procol Harum organist Matthew Fisher has won his long battle to be recognised as co-writer of the band’s hit Whiter Shade of Pale.

File-sharer violated copyright
The jury must now decide on the amount of damages it will award, after Joel Tenenbaum admitted on the witness stand that he had used file-sharing sites both to download and upload hundreds of songs.

Rorschach and Wikipedia: The battle of the inkblots
A doctor from Saskatchewan posts 10 of the famous images and their interpretations and prompts a flood of protest in the process.

Hotels.com Too Generic a Trademark, Court Rules
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit rejected a bid to register the term as a service mark.

Free speech protects confusing domain name, rules WIPO
A website that parodied the site of a political lobbying organisation has survived a domain name challenge from the target of its satire because there was no commercial exploitation of the name, even though it was deliberately confusing.

Court rules against Blackboard in patent case
A U.S. federal appeals court has found all 38 of Blackboard Inc.’s contested patent claims to be invalid in ongoing litigation between the D.C. based education software company and its Canadian competitor, Desire2Learn Inc.

Politicians Demand Scrutiny of Live Nation-Ticketmaster Merger
The U.S. Justice Department has been asked to review the potential Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger.

Eleven-word snippets can infringe copyright, rules ECJ
The copying and reproduction of just 11 words of a news article can be copyright infringement, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled.

A.P. Cracks Down on Unpaid Use of Articles on Web
The Associated Press said that it would add software to each article that shows what limits apply to the rights to use it, and that notifies the A.P. about how the article is used.

Copyright rules must protect innovation, groups say
Debate heats up over digital locks.

Ericsson wins right to acquire Nortel’s wireless business with $1.13-billion bid
Swedish telecommunication giant Ericsson won the right to acquire Nortel Networks’ most valuable wireless technology.

WIPO Launches Online Tool to Facilitate Access to Targeted Scientific Information
A new public-private partnership aims to provide industrial property offices, universities and research institutes in least developed countries with free access and industrial property offices in certain developing countries.

‘Dot-cm’: A New Target for Cybersquatters
Trademark attorneys are warning companies about a new target for cybersquatters, which is the country code for the West African nation of Cameroon.

Is the web’s ‘free’ ride over?
A new book says ‘free’ is the future. Critics say that’s just crazy.

Designers divided on copyright law
Debate continues over a proposal to extend copyright protection to clothing in the US.

Facebook needs to protect privacy better, says Canadian watchdog
Facebook does not protect personal information well enough to comply with Canadian data protection law, the Canadian Privacy Commissioner has said.

The Power of the Brand as Verb
New York Times article looks at the speed at which reputations are made and destroyed in the Internet age and whether or not opinions are changing with respect to the risk of brand “genericide”.

Amazon sparks digital ownership debate
Amazon’s decision to remotely delete e-books has sparked a debate on digital ownership.

Kazaa Returns As Legal Subscription Service
Kazaa is relaunched to the U.S. market as an all-you-can eat legal subscription service, carrying a monthly rate of $20.

Wikipedia painting row escalates
The battle over Wikipedia’s use of images from a British art gallery’s website has intensified.

Music industry wants cut of Pirate Bay sale
The music industry will attempt to seize money paid to acquire the Pirate Bay.

Pat Choate, Celebrated Economist, Author and Intellectual Property Expert, Joins AIPR Board of Directors
Dr. Pat Choate, a prominent economist, best-selling author, former vice presidential candidate and noted intellectual property expert, has joined the Board of Directors of American Innovators for Patent Reform (AIPR).

Mosaid sues IBM for patent infringement
Patent licensing firm Mosaid Technologies Inc said on Monday it was taking IBM to court for allegedly infringing on six of Mosaid’s U.S. patents.

Legal row over National Portrait Gallery images placed on Wikipedia
The National Portrait Gallery has threatened legal proceedings for breach of copyright against a man who downloaded thousands of high-resolution images from its website, and placed them in an archive of free-to-use images on Wikipedia.

Brokering Peace Between Brand Owners and Domainers
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers plans to add new top-level domains (the part of an Internet address after the period, like the proposed .eco and .nyc)

Prosecutor: Cloud computing is security’s frontier
As data moves to the cloud, attackers and thieves will follow, a federal prosecutor said on Friday.

Heart drug spending soars in Canada: study
The amount spent on drugs to prevent and treat such conditions as heart attack and stroke is soaring in Canada, say researchers, with cardiac medications now accounting for one in five of all prescriptions filled.

EU plans overhaul of Internet download rules
The European Union needs new rules for Internet downloads that would make it easier for people to access music and films without resorting to piracy, the bloc’s telecoms chief said on Thursday.

U.S. court to rehear spat over patent office rules
A U.S. appeals court has said it would rehear a fight between drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline Plc and the patent office over new rules aimed at cutting a backlog of patent applications.

Throttling could keep independent films from public, CRTC told
Independent films may have trouble reaching their audience and people with disabilities will suffer if internet service providers are allowed to keep slowing down certain internet applications, Canada’s internet regulator heard Wednesday.

Turning data into opportunity
How can you make the most of all the data on the Web? “Metasearch” – applications that take information from multiple sites and make them accessible at a single site – are growing in popularity.

Mono promise is nice, Microsoft. What about Linux?
Microsoft has divided opinion in the open-source world for years with its love/mostly hate relationship with open source. While the company has seemingly warmed up to open source in the past two years, its continued patent club has hung over projects like Linux. On Monday Microsoft sheathed the club for the open-source Mono project, but arguably needs to go much further to justify celebrations.

Gamer steals from virtual world to pay real debts
Facing real world debts, a trusted figure in a popular online game stole money from the virtual bank he ran and exchanged it for cash through the black market.

Google Targets Microsoft’s Turf
Google Inc.’s plan to build a computer operating system confirms what Chief Executive Eric Schmidt has downplayed for years: The Internet giant is challenging Microsoft Corp. in virtually all its businesses.

Court: MySpace not liable for offline assaults
Social-networking sites and other Web services can’t be held liable in a sexual assault on a minor that stemmed from a meeting online, according to a ruling in a California appeals court that consolidated a number of complaints against MySpace on behalf of teenage girls and their parents.

US government investigates Google book deal
American authorities are conducting a formal investigation into whether Google’s $125m deal with the US book industry is anti-competitive.

Fake goods charter plan launched
UK – Campaigners are calling for a national crackdown on the sale of counterfeit goods at street markets and boot fairs.

Ministers finally embrace Canada’s digital future
With attention mounting on the need for a national digital strategy, Industry Minister Tony Clement brought together 150 leaders from across the country last week for a major conference called Canada’s Digital Economy: Moving Forward.

Legal challenge to web child abuse inquiry
Claim that hundreds were convicted through flawed credit card evidence

Clement vows to boost high-tech sector
Industry Minister Tony Clement says copyright and privacy act reform will be at the top of his fall legislative agenda, two key areas he believes will help boost Canada’s high-tech industry.

China’s Green Dam internet filtering system will go ahead, official says
Government claims technology will curb access to pornography, but internet users say it blocks politically sensitive content and monitors behaviour

Apple’s iPhone May Face Trademark Problems In China
A Chinese company, which owns the trademark “i-phone,” may make it difficult for Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) to sell a similarly spelled product in the same market, reports IDG News Service.

Enforcing anti-hate laws more problematic in Internet age
The decision not to prosecute Salman Hossain for the wilful promotion of hatred against an identifiable group illustrates some of the pitfalls of a controversial anti-hate law that has often put legal opinion in conflict with political judgment, and has become doubly awkward in the age of the Internet.

Ottawa needs a strategy for cyberwar
The protests in Iran highlight the need for Ottawa to come up with a comprehensive strategy for web warfare.

June 2009

First Nations art might see scant protection from copyright, patent law
First Nations artists may not be able to get protection from copyright or patent law to stop the spread of cheap knockoffs of their artworks.

Pirate Bay judge ruled unbiased
The judge in the Pirate Bay case, was not biased according to the decision of the Swedish High Court of Justice.

AEG Facing $85 Million-Plus Jackson Ticket Refund
AEG and its ticketing partners will have the cost and logistical challenge of refunding more than $85 million on 750,000 ticket sales.

The business of censorship in Iran
In Iran, there’s a monumental battle going on in cyberspace between the censors of information and citizens who want to know what’s going on.

Google Street View does not violate privacy: Japan
Japan’s government has found that Google’s Street View service does not violate privacy laws if the US Internet giant takes safeguards such as blurring people’s faces and car licence plates.

FTC plans to monitor blogs for claims, payments
The US Federal Trade Commission may go after bloggers - as well as the companies that compensate them - for any false claims or failure to disclose conflicts of interest.

Robertson v. Thomson class action settlement approved
After 13 years of litigation, the Robertson v. Thomson class action settlement was approved June 24.  Of the $11 million settlement, $4 million was awarded for legal fees.

Clement vows to boost high-tech sector
Industry Minister Tony Clement says copyright and privacy act reform will be at the top of his fall legislative agenda, two key areas he believes will help boost Canada’s high-tech industry.

Digitization of heath records lagging, report says
Despite $1.576 billion spent between 2001 and March of this year, just 17 per cent of Canadians obtained electronic health records.

Internet surveillance laws in Canada and around the world
The Canadian government has been trying to modernize its surveillance and wiretapping laws for years now, to take into account the growth of cellphone and internet communications.

A lawsuit to dye for
The shears are out as rival hair salons battle over staff and client secrets.

Bozeman to job seekers: We won’t seek passwords
The city of Bozeman, Montana, has rescinded its policy that job applicants provide user names and passwords to social-networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace.

Jury rules against Minnesota woman in download case
A federal jury in the U.S. ruled that Jammie Thomas-Rasset willfully violated the copyrights on 24 songs, and awarded recording companies $1.92 million, or $80,000 per song.

Conference Board of Canada admits plagiarism
The Conference Board of Canada issued a statement to address allegations of plagiarism and has contracted with Dr. Ruth Corbin to review research and redo the reports.

Microsoft Hauls Click Fraudsters Into Court
Microsoft is suing three Canadians for engaging in flagrant click fraud by driving up the number of worthless clicks on competitors’ Web sites.

Digital Britain: ISPs will have to cut filesharing by 70% under new proposals
Persistent offenders may be fined or be cut off temporarily under powers Digital Britain report suggests may be given to Ofcom.

Patents County Court: users propose reform
The IPKat blog reports that the Working Group of the Intellectual Property Court Users’ Committee has released its proposals for reform of the Patents County Court for England and Wales.

China says internet filtering software is optional
China appeared to cave in to public pressure Tuesday by announcing that computer users are not required to install internet filtering software — though it will still come with all PCs sold on the mainland.

Anti-piracy music deal for Virgin
Virgin and Universal have signed a deal that will give the ISP’s customers access to “unlimited” music.

MPs call for expanded privacy law
A House of Commons committee says the federal privacy law should be expanded to cover new technologies such as live surveillance-camera feeds and DNA swabs.

Facebook starts digital land rush for personalized Web addresses
Facebook users queued up over the weekend to claim their digital turf.

You can’t buy that here
Why Canadians have to wait for the coolest new gadgets.

Film, TV music composers urge copyright law change
A growing number of artists feel they are not fairly compensated for content distributed on the Internet.

How is Whois? Internet registry seeks your feedback on privacy
Internet users are being asked what they think about a year-old policy that boosts privacy protection for individuals who have registered dot-ca domain names.

Top French legal body blocks Internet piracy law
France’s top legal authority Wednesday struck down a key provision of an Internet piracy law that would cut off offenders from the web.

Twitter hype punctured by study
Micro-blogging service Twitter remains the preserve of a few, despite the hype surrounding it, according to research.

Cape Breton distillery’s court battle with Scots not over yet
The Scotch Whisky Association is asking Canada’s highest court to stop the operators of the Glenora Inn and Distillery in Cape Breton from using the word “Glen” in the name of its whisky.

Pirate Party Wins EU Parliament Seat
The party, formed to protest copyright law, took 7.1 percent of votes in Sweden and one of that country’s 18 seats in the European Parliament.

EFF starts tracking Terms of Service with TOSBack
TOSBack will list changes made to Terms of Service of many popular online services.

J.D. Salinger Sues Over Catcher Sequel
Salinger filed legal action in a Manhattan federal court to halt publication of a Catcher In The Rye spin-off.

Avoiding the legal pitfalls of stock imagery
The Lawyers Weekly runs an article that outlines things to consider when using stock images.

CRTC will not regulate new media
Programming on the Internet or on mobile devices has again escaped federal regulation.

Trademark owner puts the brakes on iPhone app
Montreal Web developer, Sparko, has pulled an iPhone application that pinpoints where Bixi public-use bikes are available.

Canadian Govt Set To Consult On Copyright Act
The Canadian government is expected to start a consultation process on changes to the country’s Copyright Act in mid-June, with the goal of introducing a new bill by the end of the year.

Google Is Top Tracker of Surfers in Study
A new privacy study conducted by a group of graduate students at the University of California, Berkeley, suggests that user expectations are rarely in line with the data collection practices of Internet companies.

Twitter looking into reports of China outage
Twitter officials are looking into reports that the popular networking service has apparently been blocked in China.

Proposed anti-spam bill merits close attention
Canadian legislation needs input from business and once passed, will require their compliance.

Business-Method Patents Get U.S. Supreme Court Review
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review the Bilski patent case.

May 2009

Another Hot Issue: Intellectual Property
While politicians debate Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s views on issues from affirmative action to abortion, she also would bring to the U.S. Supreme Court an expertise in intellectual-property law.

Ont. health agency scrutinized for contract tendering practices
An Ontario health agency has doled out nearly $5 million in contracts without any apparent attempt to open up the deals to outside bidders, documents obtained by CBC News show.

EU to study how Google Books impact authors
The European Union’s executive body will study plans by Google to make millions of books available online after Germany said the Internet company’s project flouts EU copyright law.

Newspaper paywalls: financial salvation or suicide?
As newspapers continue to watch advertising money dry up, more and more are considering charging readers to drive up revenue

Victim of Beijing internet censorship wins landmark court ruling
A Beijing judge has ruled that an internet hosting company was wrong to close a prominent government critic’s website over allegedly illegal content.

It’s time to venture ahead on technology
The Globe and Mail runs a commentary piece on Canada’s venture capital industry.

Group Of Countries To Back Proposal For WIPO Treaty On Blind Readers’ Rights
A group of Latin American and Caribbean countries have declared their intention to support discussion of a proposal to ensure an exception to copyright for visually impaired readers.

EBay wins court fight against L’Oreal in UK
A British court ruled that Internet marketplace eBay is not liable for bogus beauty products sold on its Web site.

Scribd turns page from document sharing to selling
Commercial channel hoping to do for written word what iTunes did for music.

Paul McCartney’s home gone from Google
Singer’s security team objected to street view of London residence.

Small ISPs fight ruling that let Bell throttle internet speeds
Small internet service providers are challenging a ruling that gave Bell Canada the green light to selectively slow down internet speeds for some of their customers.

Microsoft ordered by court to pay Canadian software company i4i US$200 million
Microsoft was ordered by a U.S. court to pay Canadian software company i4i Limited Partnership US$200 million for infringing on a patent over the way its popular Microsoft Word program handles documents.

Vancouver mulls making itself an ‘open city’
Vancouver residents and businesses would benefit if the city made the data it collects open and accessible to everyone wherever possible, a city councillor says.

Craigslist strikes back, files suit
Craigslist announced Wednesday that it had filed suit against a state attorney general who has threatened criminal charges against the online classifieds site in a dispute over erotic services ads.

New media, old rules
Canadian lawmakers resist strong international pressure to rework copyright laws last updated in the age before Napster.

Supreme Court rejects copyright appeal by son of John Steinbeck
The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal from John Steinbeck’s son in an ongoing tug-of-war over publishing rights to The Grapes of Wrath and other writings by the classic American author.

Trade in illegal medicine exposed
The BBC reports on an undercover investigation that found illegal pharmaceutical drugs being sold by dealers.

New Google Trademark Policy Could Rile Owners
Google has announced a more permissive policy for using trademarks that could fuel an increase in sales, but could also rile companies already wary of the use of their brand names on Internet search advertising services.

Cancer Patients Challenge the Patenting of a Gene
The ACLU and Yeshiva University have filed a lawsuit challenging gene patents held by Myriad Genetics.

Fashion icon pays up in copycat spat
A Toronto fashion label is getting an undisclosed financial settlement from Diane von Furstenberg for appropriating the design of their vintage-looking, tea-dyed, floral jacket.

Toronto urged to provide ‘creativity stimulus’
A stimulus package to boost and incubate creativity was proposed before Toronto’s economic development committee.

Greece puts brakes on Street View
Greece’s data protection agency has banned Google from expanding its Street View service in the country, pending “additional information” from the firm.

France adopts law to cut Internet connections of illegal downloaders
Legislators in France’s lower house passed a bill that would cut the Internet connections of those who repeatedly download music and films illegally.

EC wants software makers held liable for code
Software companies could be held responsible for the security and efficacy of their products, if a new European Commission consumer protection proposal becomes law.

Economist Debates: Copyright and wrongs
The Economist is hosting an online debate on copyright, featuring guest expert commentators.

Facebook foils Canadian lawsuits
Lawyers in Canada are increasingly warning their clients about the perils of posting information on social websites such as Facebook after a small but growing number of cases faltered because of damning messages and photographs.

Court reinstates Yahoo lawsuit over fake profiles
A U.S. appeals court on Friday reinstated a breach of contract claim against Yahoo Inc by an Oregon woman who said the company failed to remove nude photos and fake profiles posted by her estranged boyfriend after promising to do so.

Bill unveiled to reverse U.S. online gambling ban
Legislation aimed at reversing a 3-year-old ban on Americans placing online bets has been introduced.

Telus, Microsoft hope Canada will buy into patient-centred e-health records
An electronic health service is being developed by Telus and Microsoft that would allow individual Canadians to access and manage copies of their lab results, X-rays and other medical information online.

Notice Of Hearing To Propose Settlement Of Class Proceeding
The Robertson v. Thomson class action (commenced in 1996 by freelance author, Heather Robertson) has settled. If you are a writer, artist or photographer, wherever you reside, please read this notice carefully as it may affect your rights.

Appeal court clarifies utility test for patents
The Lawyer’s Weekly highlights a recent Federal Court of Appeal case that clarifies the test for the “sound prediction” of the utility of a patent.

E.U. to Hear Proposal for Cross-Border Net Copyright
Two European commissioners are proposing the creation of a Europewide copyright license for online content.

Ottawa courtroom to allow Twittering from mayor’s bribery trial
Observiers of the criminal trial of Ottawa Mayor Larry O’Brien are free to use Blackberrys, laptops and other forms of electronic text messaging to report live on the proceedings.

Hot off the press!
Robertson v. Thomson, a class action commenced in 1996 by freelance author, Heather Robertson, against the Globe & Mail’s parent company Thomson and others settled on Friday May 1, 2009 for $11 million Cdn.

Canadian Parliament considers anti-malware law
The StopBadware Blog comments on the anti-malware provisions of Canada’s Bill C-27 (the Electronic Commerce Protection Act).

Law Students Collect Personal Info on Justice Scalia
A law school class exercise in privacy has apparently upset U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

April 2009

Canada placed on copyright blacklist
Canada has been added to the priority watch list of the U.S. Trade Representative’s Special 301 Report.

Beware the Twitter fakers
Twitter identities are being registered by squatters and rivals, in what is reported to be a growing phenomenon.

Microsoft responds to EU browser antitrust charges
Microsoft has submitted a formal response to European Union charges that tying the Internet Explorer browser to its Windows operating system violates antitrust rules.

Culinary intellectual property and the Montreal bagel
Should Canada being doing more to protect its distinctive culinary traditions, such as the Montreal bagel?

U.S. Justice Department looks into Google books deal
The U.S. Justice Department is making inquiries about the deal Google struck giving it the right to digitize and sell entire libraries.

EU ready to negotiate new trade deal with Canada
The European Union has approved opening new negotiations with Canada designed to expand two-way trade; IP rights were part of earlier discussions.

Sanofi Rebuffed by U.S. High Court on Lovenox Patent
The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by Sanofi-Aventis, refusing to reinstate a patent that covers the active ingredient in its top selling product, the blood-thinner Lovenox.

Conservatives introduce anti-spam bill
The Electronic Commerce Protection Act has been tabled in Canada to help crack down on those who send unsolicited and potentially harmful emails and cellphone text messages.

European Parliament votes to lengthen music performers’ copyright
The copyright term for music recordings must be extended from 50 years to 70 years, according to legislation adopted by the European Parliament.

The Pirate Bay Fights Back With Appeal Charging Judicial Bias
Defense attorneys for the four convicted proprietors of The Pirate Bay have moved for an appeal of the verdict, charging that the judge in the case had a conflict of interest.

U.K. privacy watchdog OK’s Google Street View
Britain’s privacy watchdog said on Thursday that Google’s Street View carries a small risk to privacy, but not enough to warrant removing or shutting down the service.

Nine loses copyright battle to IceTV
The High Court of Australia has ruled that the digital electronic program guide supplier IceTV did not infringe Nine Network’s copyright in its weekly program schedules.

Taiwan copyright act revised to offer safe harbor for ISPs and “three strikes rule” for copyright infringement
Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan has passed an amendment to its Copyright Act to incorporate regulations in which repeat copyright infringers may have their Internet access service withdrawn.

Court flunks high schoolers’ appeal on plagiarism database
US federal appeals court finds that TurnItIn.com’s archival of student papers is fair use.

Taser Sues Second Life Virtual World Creator Over Gun Sales
Taser International Inc. filed a trademark-infringement lawsuit against Second Life, claiming that it sells unauthorized virtual versions of its stun guns.

Why File Sharing Will Save Hollywood, Music
Article on Wired.com states that file sharing sites have taught valuable lessons to the content industry and social-media world.

In nod to users, Facebook opens vote on terms of service
After outraged users slammed the social networking site, Facebook gives them the vote.

Music downloading hearing can’t be streamed online
The US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit overturned a previous decision that would have allowed online streaming of arguments in a music downloading lawsuit filed against a Boston University student.

Court finds The Pirate Bay founders guilty
A Stockholm court has found four men guilty of promoting copyright infringement by running The Pirate Bay and sentenced them to a year in prison.

Sports groups pushing for monopoly, says News Ltd.
Australian media group News Ltd. says a push by sports organizations to restrict reporting of their events is an attempt to monopolize coverage, and allowing that by legislation would be an assault on free speech.

American Apparel vs Woody Allen: ‘We didn’t ruin your reputation, you did that yourself’
Woody Allen seeking $10-million after American Apparel used his image on billboards and on the internet without his permission.

Two new guidance documents from Health Canada
The Cross-Border Biotech Blog reports that revised versions of guidance documents on data protection and subsequent entry biologics have been released.

Cloud computing requires savvy
Storing or sharing personal information on remote computers controlled by others is a common practice fraught with potential problems.

U.S. mulls stiffer sentences for Net proxies use
The U.S. Sentencing Commission is to vote on a series of amendments to sentencing guidelines, which would classify the use of proxies as evidence of “sophistication” in planning certain types of crimes.

Does the state have any business in the garbage bags of Canadians?
The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled police may search any of your garbage within reach from the street, even if it’s on your property.

Small gaming firm makes play for big success
Part of a flourishing cluster of companies lured to PEI by tax incentives, video-game studio creates its first original offering.

Goldman Sachs Tries to Silence Critical Blog
New York investment bank Goldman Sachs has sent a cease and desist letter to the owner of the blog GoldmanSachs666.

Court backs limited version of MySpace lawsuit
A UC Berkeley student’s diatribe on MySpace.com about her hometown ended up in a local newspaper and led to threats against her family.

Canadian Copyright Board Issues Royalty Decision
Billboard reports on the Copyright Board of Canada’s royalty decision dealing with the use of music by satellite radio services.

A Hospital Is Offering Digital Records
NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital has begun to offer consumer-controlled health records for patients.

Facebook Divorces Pirate Bay
Facebook is blocking Pirate Bay torrents from being shared on the popular social-networking site.

AP to crack down on websites that copy its news
The Associated Press announced that it will “take all actions necessary” to protect its news and digital content from “misappropriation on the internet”.

ISPs to record all emails and calls
Internet service providers in the UK are to retain records of emails and online phone calls under new data retention laws now in force.

Google loses on appeal, will face AdWords trademark suit
A US Court of Appeals has reinstated a case in which a computer repair company alleged that Google’s AdWords and Keyword Suggestion Tool violated its trademark by suggesting and selling its name.

Swedish file-sharing law causes drop in Net use
Internet traffic dropped sharply after a new law cracking down on online copyright violation went into force.

Google’s Plan for Out-of-Print Books Is Challenged
Concerns are being raised that the Google Books settlement will grant Google too much power over orphan works.

Argentinean professor charged criminally for promoting access to knowledge
The CopySouth Research Group reports that a philosophy professor in Argentina, Horacio Potel, is facing criminal charges for maintaining a website devoted to translations of works by French philosopher Jacques Derrida.

CRTC launches online consultation on ISP traffic management
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission has launched an online public consultation to allow Canadians to weigh in on the traffic management practices of ISPs.

Desire2Learn’s olive branch rejected
Patent infringement dispute involving Kitchener company’s educational software continues.

Courts poked: tweets not sweet
Judges must act to avoid ‘Google mistrials’.

March 2009

JK Rowling leads fight against free books site Scribd
Harry Potter author is among writers shocked to discover their books available as free downloads.

It’s Time to Drop the ‘Expectation of Privacy’ Test
Wired has a piece by Bruce Schneier, in which he questions the continued use of the ‘Expectation of Privacy’ test in the United States.

Pirate Bay linking could implicate Facebook, says lawyer
The Pirate Bay has unveiled a feature that makes it easy for web users to post download links on their Facebook page.

Advertising in a recession
BNN features a discussion on advertising and branding during an economic downturn (the interview includes Kerry Munro, General Manager of Yahoo! Canada and Tony Chapman, Founder and CEO of Capital C Marketing Group).

A Video Game Start-Up Banks on the Cloud
The New York Times runs a piece about a new service that plans to provide subscribers access to a selection of video games that are hosted online in the cloud.

Ontario judge orders website to reveal identity data on anonymous posters
An Ontario Superior Court judge has ordered a pair of website owners to turn over identifying information about eight people being accused of defamation after posting anonymous comments.

U.S. prosecutor sued over semi-nude teen photos case
The ACLU sued a Pennsylvania prosecutor over his threats to charge three teenage girls for ’sexting’.