Federal Court of Appeal Upholds Canada’s First Website-Blocking Order in Decision that Raises Freedom of Expression Concerns

Don’t Tread on Me (or My ISP): Rogers v Voltage Pictures

I’m sure you’ve never accessed material online without proper permissions from the copyright holder, but, given the number of them that go out, chances are you or someone you know (or their spam folder) has received an email along the following lines: [Your ISP] has received a notice from a content owner that alleges an […]

Fair Balance, Proportionality and Revamping the Publication Rule — Will these Efforts Resolve the Problem of Online Intermediaries? It’s Unlikely.

The Law Commission of Ontario recently held a conference as part of a consultation process for its “Defamation Law in the Internet Age” project. The event provided scope for continuing the conversation around reform of defamation laws in the context of fast-moving and far-reaching developments in technology and social values.

Internet service providers liability and copyright protection in the EU

The re-posting of this analysis is part of a cross-posting collaboration with MediaLaws: Law and Policy of the Media in a Comparative Perspective.   Which is the legal framework surrounding Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in the EU, when it comes to copyright protection? The following article analyses the importance of ISPs in the enforcement of […]

"Notice and Notice" and Video Streaming - Are You Breaking Bad?

Video streaming, we all do it (or have done it at some point). It’s difficult not to in this day and age when entertainment is so easily transportable and amenable to on-the-go enjoyment, the stationary television becoming less and less the platform for watching our favourite movies and shows. Some of us have engaged in […]

Garcia v Google Inc.: Copyright Ownership, ISP Liability and the Future of Freedom of Expression

In a stunning decision recently released by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Google was ordered to remove the now-infamous film, “Innocence of Muslims”, from YouTube. While the ruling challenges traditional understandings of copyright ownership and protected expression under US copyright law, the Court’s unprecedented opinion also has significant implications for […]

News on ISPs liability from Spain: YouTube not responsible for infringements of copyrighted materials. The second chapter of Telecinco v YouTube

Marco Bassini is the Managing Editor of MediaLaws, www.medialaws.eu, and a lawyer at Baker & McKenzie LLP’s office in Milan. The re-posting of this analysis is part of a cross-posting collaboration with MediaLaws: Law and Policy of the Media in a Comparative Perspective.

Supreme Court of Canada Considers "Broadcasting Undertakings" in ACTRA v. Bell

Daniel Dawalibi is an articling student at McCarthy Tétrault LLP.  The firm acted for the Appellant in this hearing before the Supreme Court of Canada. On January 16, 2011, the Supreme Court heard an appeal in the case of Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television & Radio Artists, et al. v. Bell Aliant Regional Communications, LP, […]

New Child Pornography Legislation Criticized: Burdensome, Infringes Privacy and Ineffectual

Brandon Evenson is a JD candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School. On Tuesday, November 24th, the federal government tabled legislation mandating all ISPs to report child pornography. Bill C-58 requires that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) report the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) or Internet Protocol (IP) address where child pornography may be available to the public. If […]

The HADOPI law held unconstitutional by the French Constitutional Court

Giovanni Maria Riccio is Professor of Private Comparative Law at the University of Salerno.  Professor Riccio is an IP Osgoode Research Affiliate.  The French Constitutional Court held that the "Creation and Internet" law - the law promoted by the Olivennes Commission and strictly supported by the President Sarkozy - is unconstitutional. This Act - whose […]