Law Commons^™

Solving Legal Issues In Electronic Government: Authority And Authentication, John D. Gregory

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This article is an overview of some of the legal themes and issues faced by governments in the electronic age, with particular regard to their own operations: electronic service delivery and the administration of government itself.

Electronic government is the performance of any function of government using electronic records and electronic communications. It may involve, in the language of the Uniform Electronic Commerce Act, ‘‘us[ing] electronic means to create, collect, receive, store, transfer, distribute, publish or otherwise deal with documents or information.’’ The term thus covers the provision of governmental services to the public, including commu- nication from the public …

Le Droit De Faire Jouer La Radio En Public, Ou La Petite Histoire D'Une Drôle D'Exemption, René Pépin

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

L’article 69 de la loi canadienne sur le droit d’auteur prévoit qu’aucun montant n’est exigible d’une personne qui utilise en public un appareil radio, pourvu que ce soit fait dans un endroit, tel un commerce ou un restaurant, où le public est invité à se rendre sans qu’il lui soit chargé un prix d’entrée. Plusieurs pays ont une disposition semblable dans leur législation en matière de droit d’auteur. Cela évite que les détenteurs de droits d’auteur sur des pièces musicales, ou les compagnies de disques, prétendent que le propriétaire de l’appareil radio se trouve à «représenter publiquement» ou à «exécuter …

Collective Management Of Copyright And Neighbouring Rights In Canada: An International Perspective, Daniel J. Gervais

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

In this paper, we will compare the current Canadian framework and activities of Collective Management Organizations with the situation in a number of other major countries and suggest possible improvements to the current regime. The comparison will focus first on the general legal background for collective management and, second, on issues specific to the digital age. The paper only addresses some of the specific issues raised by the 1996 WCT and WPPT.

Book Review: Privacy Law In Canada By Colin H.H. Mcnairn And Alexander K. Scott, Anne Mussett

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Privacy Law in Canada is a 360-page work that broadly covers legislation at both the federal and provin- cial level, and criminal and civil liability for privacy intru- sions in the context of case law from across Canada. Particular focus is given to privacy issues associated with the workplace, personal health information, technolog- ical surveillance, and protecting consumers and debtors. The authors take a practical approach in examining chal- lenging questions, such as whether a consumer’s consent is required to obtain a credit report; disclosure of med- ical information; monitoring an employee’s computer use and voice mail; how the PIPEDA …

Litoral: A New Form Of Defamation Consciousness, Kim Von Arx

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

With the Internet, quickly becoming ubiquitous, the question arises: how does the Internet, and more specifi- cally computer-mediated-communication (CMC), affect people’s lives?

This paper will explore CMC in the Western world as an instance of Walter J. Ong’s notion of secondary orality. It will seek to determine whether the proposed shift in communicative and social consciousness elimi- nates the need for the common law distinction between libel and slander in the online communication environ- ment. The paper is divided into three parts. In the first section, the elements of primary orality and the shift of consciousness from a primary oral …

Don't Shoot The Messenger! A Discussion Of Isp Liability, Andrew Bernstein, Rima Ramchandani

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

In today’s world of rampant networked communica- tion, the Internet Service Provider (‘‘ISP’’) finds itself in a uniquely vulnerable position. As the conduit through which content is disseminated to a numerically and geo- graphically vast audience, the obvious legal risk to ISPs is that those who provide content will do so in a way that attracts legal liability. Like many communications prov- iders (such as publishers or broadcasters), the ISP may have to assume some responsibility for simply providing the means of transmitting content. In some cases, the ISP is more actively involved in the transmission or is know- ingly …

The Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy: A Practical Guide, Bradley J. Freedman, Robert J.C. Deane

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Disputes involving alleged bad faith registration and use of certain Internet domain names may be arbitrated pursuant to the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the Policy) mandated by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers ("ICANN").

The Policy is the first attempt to establish a global set of substantive rules regarding certain kinds of Internet-related trademark disputes, and a single, international system for the arbitration of those disputes. In many respects, the Policy has fulfilled its objective of providing an efficient and cost effective means of resolving certain domain name disputes. In other respects, however, the experience with …

Who Was That Masked Man? Online Defamation, Freedom Of Expression, And The Right To Speak Anonymously, Jonathon T. Feasby

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

As the internet continues to reach into the lives of people around the world, it facilitates interaction and the exchange of ideas between far-flung individuals and groups to an extent unprecedented in communications history. However, with this positive effect, the potential of the internet as a forum for defamation and other malfeasance has increased as well. Words online can be heard or read in places conventional forms of speech might never reach. As the United States Supreme Court put it, with the aid of the internet ". . . any person with a phone line can become a town crier …

Is Internet Gaming Legal In Canada: A Look At Starnet, C. Ian Kyer, Danielle Hough

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

The development of the Internet has kindled many new business opportunities in the online environment. Despite the recent slump in online business growth and popularity, one line of online business is generating profit and growing at a rapid rate: the business of online gaming.

The legality of such businesses is questionable in Canada and there are few gaming cases to assist Canadian lawyers. The following analysis must be considered in light of the dearth of jurisprudence in this area and should not be considered legal advice. This area of the law is in flux and developments may be unpredictable.

When …

Book Review: The Personal Information Protection And Electronic Documents Act: An Annotated Guide By Stephanie Perrin, Heather H. Black, David H. Flaherty And T. Murray Rankin, Q.C. (Concord, Ont.: Irwin Law, 2001), Teresa Scassa

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

In April 2000, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act was passed by the House of Commons. The legislation dealt with both personal information privacy and the use and validity of electronic documents in areas governed by federal law. On January 1, 2001, the portion of the Act dealing with electronic documents took effect, as did the privacy provisions, to the extent that they related to the collection use or disclosure of personal information inter-provincially, or in connection with a federal work, undertaking or business. The Act applied to personal health information as of January 1, 2002, and will …

Book Review: A Guide To Electronic Legal Research By A. Zivanovic (Markham Ont.: Butterworths Canada, 2001), David H. Michels

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

No abstract provided.

Copyright Limitations And Contracts. An Analysis Of The Contractual Overridability Of Limitations On Copyright, Lucie Guibault

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Traditional copyright law strikes a delicate balance between an author's control of original material and society's interest in the free flow of ideas, information, and commerce. In today's digitally networked environment, this balance has shifted dramatically to one side, as powerful rights holders contractually impose terms and conditions of use far beyond the bounds set by copyright law. This vitally significant book explores this conflict from its gestation through its current manifestations to its future lineaments and potential consequences. Focusing on statutory copyright limitations that enshrine constitutional rights such as freedom of expression and privacy, foster dissemination of knowledge, safeguard …

Peer-To-Peer Sharing On The Internet: An Analysis Of How Gnutella Networks Are Used To Distribute Pornographic Material, Michael D. Mehta, Don Best, Nancy Poon

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

By our very nature, humans are creatures that communicate and network. Over the past several decades much of this communicating and networking has been facilitated by developments in information and communication technology. The social and economic transformations resulting from developments on the Internet have created several challenges for policymakers, lawmakers, courts and a wide range of other kinds of institutions. Some of these challenges are associated with the technologies and applications themselves. Other challenges result from content made available on the Internet and how users exchange data. Recent developments in peer-to-peer data exchange bring these two sets of challenges together.

Spirits In A Material World: Intelligent Agents As Intermediaries In Electronic Commerce, Ian R. Kerr

Dalhousie Law Journal

The article provides an in-depth analysis of the contract issues peculiar to automated electronic commerce. The aim of the study is to provide a critical evaluation of the various solutions that might be adopted by a legislature seeking to cure formal defects in agreements that are negotiated and entered into by software programs, independent of human review. The author begins with an examination of the current state of the technology that automates electronic commerce, offering some speculation as to its future development. He then outlines the barriers to automated electronic commerce inherent in traditional contract doctrine. He argues against the …

Framing The Issues For Cameras In The Courtrooms: Redefining Judicial Dignity And Decorum, A Wayne Mackay

Dalhousie Law Journal

This article examines the role of s. 2(b) of the Charter of Rights in determining the role of cameras in Canadian courtrooms. The discussions reveal that arguments in opposition to cameras are largely unfounded and in contradiction to the freedom of expression guarantee. The denial of the right is in reality based on judges' and lawyers' fear of loss of control of the courtroom environment. Cameras should only be banned from courtrooms as part of a total publication ban, and then only after a careful s. 1 analysis

Is Care Enough? Proceed With Care: Final Report Of The Royal Commission On New Reproductive Technologies, Diana Majury

Dalhousie Law Journal

Having just finished reading Proceed with Care: Final Report of the Royal Commission on New Reproductive Technologies, I find that the questions I am left with pertain less to the technologies themselves, although I certainly do have those, and more to the role and effectiveness of royal commissions generally, and this Royal Commission specifically. I am left wondering, Was it worth it? What really was the point of it all? How could we expect any group of seven-or was it nine? well, ultimately five people-to respond with depth and substance to a mandate that required them to "inquire into and …

La Preuve, Les Techniques Modernes Et Le Respect Des Valeurs Fondamentales, Wafe Maclauchlan

Dalhousie Law Journal

In La preuve, les techniques modernes et le respect des valeurs fondamentales, Professor Pierre Patenaude has produced a scholarly and practical inquiry into the question of how law responds to science. This book raises questions of the gathering, the admissibility and the reliability of evidence through modem techniques such as electronic surveillance, breathalyzer tests, lie detectors, radar, the administration of truthinducing drugs, and hypnosis. It combines a thoughtful examination of values underlying the law of evidence with an introduction to the complexities and the frailities of scientific investigative techniques.

Baby M: The Contractual Legitimation Of Misogyny, Richard F. Devlin Frsc

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

The emergence of what have become known as the "new reproductive technologies" is a phenomenon which is neither essentially good nor essentially bad. On the one hand, such developments provide opportunities for social choice, family planning and procreative autonomy which, until recently, were impossible. This expansion of horizons is clearly a "good". However, on the darker side, as a community, we must be concerned about the directions which such opportunities might take. There are very real dangers involved, including excessive genetic engineering, raised expectations of perfect "products" with the correlative dissatisfaction with the "imperfect", inequality of access to these new …

"Electronic Shock": The Impact Of Computer Technology On The Practice Of Law, B. B. Lockwood

Dalhousie Law Journal

This article was written on a computer by a practitioner of law of thirty years' standing. In all that time I have rarely used a typewriter, and then only in an emergency during the dark reaches of a late night. What has changed? Why not dictate this? Wouldn't a secretary do it faster? . . . and better? The answers are: a home computer now sits on the desk in my study; for me, it's much easier and surer to edit text I can see; and, even with a good secretary, it is easier and faster to review and edit …