Much Ado about Privacy? How the Alberta Government's Inaction on PIPA Threatened the Act

Over the past year, the status of Alberta’s Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) was in flux and closely watched by privacy experts and practitioners across Canada. In November 2013, the Supreme Court of Canada decision in Alberta (Information and Privacy Commissioner) v United Food and Commercial Workers, 2013 SCC 62, rendered PIPA unconstitutional, and declared it […]

The Alphabet Soup of Transborder Intellectual Property Enforcement

In the past few years, policymakers, academic commentators, consumer advocates, civil liberties groups, and user communities have expressed grave concerns about the steadily increasing levels of enforcement of intellectual property rights. Many of these concerns relate to the “alphabet soup” of transborder intellectual property enforcement, which consists of the following: SECURE (Standards to Be Employed […]

On Suspending SOPA and Piping PIPA Down

If the past month is any indication at all, 2012 is going to be an eventful year for intellectual property legislation, at least in the US and Canada. The controversy over the twin anti-digital piracy bills— the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA)— has gained much attention, particularly because […]

Developing: Megaupload Take Down and Attacks by Anonymous

Ben Farrow is a JD candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School. It was a big day in the copyright enforcement world today as US federal authorities moved to shut down website Megaupload. The crackdown included charges against seven people as well as the seizure of over 50 million dollars in assets.  As the internet's most […]