Internet Law Commons^™

No Lego, Yes Logo: The Federal Court Of Appeal Protects Innovation In Kirkbi Ag And Lego Canada Inc. V. Ritvik Holdings Inc., Sean Robertson

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This article will discuss the case at the trial and appellate levels. It will specifically address the underlying policy debate between the majority and the dissenting decisions at the Federal Court of Appeal. The author will compare this debate to two similar international cases involving Lego’s infamous intellectual property litigation. With this recent finding in the 40-year-old saga of international case law surrounding Lego’s trade-mark enforcement strategy, the Appeal Division of the Federal Court of Canada joins the ranks of several other courts that have similarly excluded protection for Lego based on the doctrine of functionality. The comment concludes with …

Video Surveillance, Evidence And Pipeda: A Comment On Ferenszy V. Mci Medical Clinic, Anne Uteck

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

One of the most common uses of surveillance is in the area of evidence gathering for investigation by litigators. Private investigators have long been retained for this purpose, and law enforcement officers routinely utilize surveillance devices to assist in the prosecution of a crime. The admissibility of video surveillance evidence obtained by private and government investigators is obviously not a new issue. What has come to the fore- front is the application of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act in the context of video surveillance evidence, and its impact on civil litigators. Privacy interests inherent in the collection, …

Case Comment: Society Of Composers, Authors And Music Publishers Of Canada V. Canadian Association Of Internet Service Providers, Barry Sookman

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

The exponential growth of the Internet has raised serious issues related to liability for copyright infringement. Who should compensate authors and publishers for the use of their works? What activities constitute infringement? Are Internet intermediaries such as Internet service providers (ISPs) liable for infringement when they provide connectivity to subscribers, when they provide hosting services, or when they use caching technologies? Where does infringement occur? Is the scope of the Copyright Act limited to acts of infringement that occur wholly within Canada or does the Act apply to acts that take place partly in Canada and partly outside of Canada? …

A Chose By Any Other Name: Domain Names As A Security Interest, Andrew B. Cochran

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

There has been increasing study of the issues involved in using intellectual property as a security interest, but little corresponding consideration of domain names. The ascendancy in value of domain names to modern business increases their usefulness as a security interest to lenders and borrowers alike. Their use in this respect appears not to be weighed down by two of the most difficult issues facing intellectual property, namely conflicting jurisdiction between federal statutory interests and provincial property interests, together with establishing more readily acceptable methods of valuation. However, there is ambiguity about the actual form of ownership interest involved with …

Of Neighbours And Netizens, Or, Duty Of Care In The Tech Age: A Comment On Cooper V. Hobart, Robert J. Currie

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

The focal point of this comment will be the recent judgment of the Supreme Court of Canada in Cooper v. Hobart, which appears to have made some significant changes to the elements of ‘‘duty of care’’, the foundational negligence concept. The Court framed its decision as refining duty of care analysis in order to properly deal with ‘‘novel claims’’ (i.e., those for which there is not an established or analogous duty of care in the existing case law). Given that the growth of elec- tronic commerce and Internet usage continues to spawn ‘‘novel’’ legal issues, Cooper is an appropriate starting …

Recalibrating Copyright Law?: A Comment On The Supreme Court Of Canada's Decision In Cch Canadian Limited Et Al. V. Law Society Of Upper Canada, Teresa Scassa

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

The Supreme Court of Canada’s unanimous decision in CCH Canadian Ltd. et. al. v. Law Society of Upper Canada marks a second recent decision by the Court that has major implications for the development of copyright law in Canada. In Théberge v. Galerie D’Art du Petit Champlain, the majority of the Court provided a significant articulation of the balance to be struck between the rights of creators and the rights of users of copyright-protected works. In doing so, it embraced an approach to copyright typical of U.S. copyright law in its heyday. The unanimous Court in CCH Canadian makes it …

Electronic Commerce - A Practitioner's Guide Edited By Alan M. Gahtan, Martin P.J. Kratz, And J. Fraser Mann (Toronto: Thomson Carwell, 2003), Harmonie Roesch-West

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

At a time when there seems to be no clear consensus on how to regulate electronic commerce comes a much-needed discussion of the many salient factors impacting the matter in Electronic Commerce: A Practitioner’s Guide. The collaborative effort includes works from several authors, compiled by Alan M. Gahtan, Martin P.J. Kratz, and J. Fraser Mann. This guide is an excellent first step in clarifying the issues and summarizing the precedents and relevant statute law to date. Although the target is an audience of law professionals, other e-commerce stakeholders, including business pro- fessionals, will find this collection useful.

Ef Cultural Travel V. Explorica: The Protection Of Confidential Commercial Information In The American And Canadian Contexts, Suzanne White

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Commercial information, once relegated to paper files stored in cabinets, is now more likely to be in digital form, allowing a myriad of people to access its contents. These electronic storehouses can subsequently be stored on the Internet, providing a handy but some- what risky means of archiving valuable information. The United States Court of Appeals (1st Circ.) judgment EF Cultural Travel v. Explorica1 is a clear indicator of the way in which the advent of the Internet has completely changed the constructive meaning of the traditional ‘‘office file’’. This paper attempts to provide an under- standing of the scope …

Law As Film: Representing Justice In The Age Of Moving Images, Shulamit Almog, Ely Aharonson

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Two main theses are presented here. The first is that there is a conceptual resemblance between the ways in which messages are transmitted in the courtroom and the ways in which they are transmitted in the cinema. The second is that the evolution of legal procedure is being influenced by developments taking place in visual culture generally and film specifically. Taken together, these theses lead to the conclusion that the development of a theory of ‘‘law-as-film’’ can provide insights into the contemporary practice of law that might otherwise be overlooked.

Foreign Investment Restrictions As Industrial Policy: The Case Of Canadian Telecommunications, Robert Crandall, Hal Singer

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

We assess the economic harms that would accrue if Canada were to adopt asymmetric rules of foreign ownership for incumbent carriers and entrants. We explain the current Canadian regulatory climate surrounding foreign investment in Canadian telecommunications. Competition in the telecommunications industry is generally robust, which suggests that rules aimed at favouring entrants are not necessary. Moreover, Canadian entrants are equally capable of attracting foreign capital as Canadian incumbents, which suggests that foreign investment rules aimed at favouring entrants are especially unwise.

Next, we review the U.S. attempt to stimulate competition in local telecommunications markets through an analogous form of asymmetrical …

Turning Worms: Some Thoughts On Liabilities For Spreading Computer Infections, Richard Owens

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Two aspects of the virus/worm liability problem are of particular note. The first is how tightly the Internet binds together many possible defendants; those who build and run it, those who populate it with increasingly complex electronic commerce Web sites, those who provide terminal software, those who send electronic mails, those who design its security algorithms, those who insure it, and those who hack it, amongst others.

The second aspect is how speculative such a review is. Little case law pertains. Even the language of the law(what does it really mean when we assess liability on the basis of a …

Following The Right Lead: Gutnick And The Dance Of Internet Jurisdiction, Mary Paterson

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

As improving methods of travel and communication facilitated the shift from an agrarian to an industrial society, the common law courts increasingly faced interjurisdictional disputes. Although British paternalism dominated early cases in which courts assumed jurisdiction over people, property, and actions in distant lands, these cases and the imperial attitudes informing them were slowly replaced by more modest jurisdictional assertions based on a sense of comity. The shift from an industrial society to an information-based society and the simultaneous growth of a global infrastructure based on satellite, telephone, cable, and cellular technologies have stretched jurisdictional doctrines in new ways, calling …

Les Consommateurs Et Les Clubs Vidéo Ont-Ils Le Droit De Modifier Les Films À Leur Guise?, René Pépin

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Dans un premier temps, nous voulons étudier le litige en cours. Même si aucune décision sur le fond n’est susceptible d’être rendue à court terme, nous pouvons scruter les prétentions des parties et voir l’état du droit aux États-Unis sur ce sujet. Nous examinerons ensuite comment cette problématique serait traitée au Canada.

Et c’est ici que la question soulevée dans le litige revêt tout son intérêt, car elle met en jeu des notions fonda- mentales en matière de droit d’auteur. On devra ainsi se demander si le fait pour une personne ou une entreprise de retrancher des séquences représentant quelques …

Anonymity And The Supreme Court's Model Of Expression: How Should Anonymity Be Analysed Under Section 2(B) Of The Charter?, Peter Carmichael Keen

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

The first part of this article will discuss what anonymity is, and the costs and benefits that anonymity confers on expressive activity. I will demonstrate that anonymity is a double-edged sword in that it can both promote and harm free expression. In the second part, I will suggest that there is no doubt that anonymity can be protected under section 2(b) of the Charter. When I first began this article, I intended to examine ‘‘whether’’ anonymity can be constitutionally protected under section 2(b). As my research progressed, I quickly realised that I was asking the wrong question. I discovered that …

Banning Bans On New Reproductive And Novel Genetic Technologies, Matthew Herder

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Commentators argue that statutory prohibitions with the force of the criminal law should not be used to regulate new reproductive technologies (NRTs) and novel genetic technologies (NGTs). Bill C-13, the Assisted Human Reproduction Act, however, codifies 10 criminal bans. This paper considers the merits of the various arguments levied against Bill C-13, and the corollary claim that only a "non-prohibitive" model of legislation befits NRTs and NGTs. Three types of arguments are used to critique criminal bans: (1) "Structural" arguments hinge on the constraints of the Canadian legal system - legislation complete with prohibitions runs afoul of the Constitution Act …

Student Protector, Internet Provider, Or Contractual Party? An Examination Of The Legal Relationship Between A University And Its Students, Anna Christine Milot

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

The legal relationship between a university and its students is becoming increasingly complex as the use of technology spreads. Accordingly, it is important to define a university’s responsibilities and legal boundaries in order to understand the liability universities can potentially incur when dealing with students. Each Canadian university is unique in its founding and enacting legislation, as will be discussed further later. The individuality of Canada’s universities means that the questions raised in this paper cannot be given answers that can necessarily be generalized across universities. The approach to analysis in this paper, however, is applicable to any of the …

Intellectual Property Laws In Harmony With Nafta: The Courts As Mediators Between The Global And The Local, Myra J. Tawfik

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This paper will argue that domestic courts can pro- vide a forum within which to mediate between these two extremes, to reconcile the ‘‘global’’ and the ‘‘local’’ — but that the courts themselves must adapt to meet the challenges that globalization places upon them. More specifically, the paper begins by setting out a framework for understanding harmonization of laws under NAFTA as one that encourages rather than eliminates diversity of law. The paper then studies the prevailing approaches to statutory interpretation that Canadian courts, most especially the Supreme Court of Canada and the Federal Court of Appeal, have been employing …

Technology And International Trade: Wille The Real Transformer Please Stand Up?, Todd Weiler

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

The primary driver of change in Canada’s cultural sector has not been some kind of contrived, neo- liberal plot imposed upon an unsuspecting public with the promise of ‘‘jobs, jobs, jobs.’’ Rather, it has been technology. The role for liberalised trade and investment treaties comes only in the form of a conditioning force, limiting the panoply of choices available to govern- mental officials who want to respond to the changes being wrought by technological advances.

This paper begins with some brief definitions, moving next to an elaboration of its thesis, and finally explaining the application of this thesis to some …

Computer Law By George S. Takach (Toronto: Irwin Law Inc., 2000, 2nd Edition), David T.S. Fraser

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

No abstract provided.

Fast Track Trade Authority And The Free Trade Agreements: Implications For Copyright Law, Samuel Trosow

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

In 2002, Congress passed the Bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority Act, which restored the presidential fast-track trade-promotion authority that had lapsed in 1994. Fast-track trade promotion authority is a means by which Congress delegates to the president a portion of its constitutional authority over international trade policy. This paper reviews the development, scope, and application of fast-track trade-promotion authority, evaluates some of the copyright provisions in key Free Trade Agreements, and concludes that the process has been effectively captured by the information and entertainment industries. There are numerous negative consequences that flow from the resulting policy environment. Not only is an …

Patent First, Litigate Later! The Scramble For Speculative And Overly Broad Genetic Patents: Implications For Access To Health Care And Biomedical Research, Ikechi Mgbeoji, Byron Allen

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This paper will not directly address the ethical considerations of allowing patents on human genetic sequences, although this continues to be a controversial debate in itself. Rather, the aim is to consider the legality of such gene patents and the effects such patents have on biomedical research and health care delivery in definitive terms through an analysis of current developments and research relating to the subject. The operation of current intellectual property regimes regulating such patents will be examined, and amendments to these legal systems will be considered. An emphasis will be placed on identifying practical concerns rather than broad, …

Beyond Convergence And The New Media Decisions: Regulatory Models In Communications Law, Melanie Mortensen

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

While technological and economic changes have been the most influential factors in stimulating recent policy and regulatory reassessments in Canada with respect to telecommunications and broadcasting regulation, public interest and socio-political concerns should also remain significant in the design of new regulatory and policy responses to convergence and competition. When the CRTC announced that it would refrain from regulating broadcasting in new media for a period of five years, this occasion illustrated the increasing inapplicability of the sector-specific legislation from which the mandate of the CRTC is derived.

The first model addressed is the present sector-specific policy and regulatory treatment …

Rescuing The Balance?: An Assessment Of Canada's Proposal To Limit Isp Liability For Online Copyright Infringement, Scott Nesbitt

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This paper attempts both to explain the technological and legal imperatives pressing Canada to address the issue of ISP liability in reforms to the Copyright Act and to raise some concerns about the impact of the government’s proposed amendments in this area. The basic elements of copyright law, the impact of digital technology on copyright and the policy arguments surrounding ISP liability are briefly discussed to set the context for judicial treatment of and legislative action on this issue. Next, the paper focuses on the development of American jurisprudence with respect to limitation of ISP liability for third party copyright …

Information Technology Transactions: Business, Management And Legal Strategies By Dunca Card (Toronto: Carswell, 2002), Michael E. Deturbide

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Although a number of Canadian books have appeared over the past few years addressing the legal issues that have arisen with the explosion in information technology, few have highlighted the practical implica- tions that these legal issues have in technology transac- tions. Duncan Card’s new book, Information Tech- nology Transactions: Business, Management and Legal Strategies, tackles these issues from a practical perspective that will be useful, as the title suggests, to both lawyers and management.

Cross Border E-Commerce And The Gst/Hst: Towards International Consensus Or Divergence?, Keith R. Evans

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

In February 2001, the OECD issued a draft report on ‘‘Consumption Tax Aspects of Electronic Commerce’’. The purpose of this report was to seek comments on Working Party No. 9’s conclusions and recommendations in respect of the approach to be taken on the application of consumption taxes to e-commerce in light of the Ottawa Taxation Framework Conditions. The 1998 Conditions called for the taxation principles that applied to traditional commerce to be the guide for the taxation of e-commerce, to ensure non-discriminatory tax treatment of electronic commerce transactions. In November 2001, the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (‘‘CCRA’’) issued its …

Fragmented Copyright, Fragmented Management: Proposals To Defrag Copyright Management, Daniel Gervais, Alana Maurushat

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

The collective management of copyright in Canada was conceived as a solution to alleviate the problem of inefficiency of individual rights management. Creators could not license, collect and enforce copyright efficiently on an individual basis. Requiring users to obtain permission from individual copyright holders for the use of a work was equally inefficient. Collectives, therefore, emerged to facilitate the clearance of rights between creators and users. Even with the facilitation of collectives in the process, clearing rights remains an inherently difficult and convoluted process. This is especially so in the age of the Internet where clearing rights for multimedia products …

Qui Détient Les Droits D'Auteur Sur Les Diverses Productions Des Professeurs D'Université?, René Pépin

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

L’utilisation des nouvelles technologies de l’information et de la communication (NTIC) peut prendre un grand nombre de formes. On peut donner l’exemple, déjà appliqué à certains endroits, où le professeur, en plus de dispenser son enseignement dans un local de cours, place le contenu intégral de son cours sur un serveur de la faculté ou de l’université, avec un genre de babillard électronique dans lequel les étudiants peuvent lui poser des questions, lire ses réponses, ou discuter entre eux de différents sujets. Les étudiants peuvent aussi le contacter par téléphone ou par courriel. La technologie facilite également l’enregistrement des cours …

The Internet Direct Public Offering: Establishing Trust In A Disintermediated Capital Market, Jason Trainor

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Whereas the process of financial intermediation was once human capital and relationship intensive, it is now heavily influenced by technological innovation and consumer demand, factors which have tended to disrupt the monopoly power of financial intermediaries. Technological innovation alone, however, is not sufficient to replace the institutions and actors that previously dominated the market for public offerings; rather, the concept of disintermediation by definition creates a vacuum that must be filled. Law firms and other intermediaries can create additional value for their clients by assuming some or all of the tasks currently apportioned to investment bankers in the public offering …

Reducing Inconsistency In Udrp Cases, David Wotherspoon, Alex Cameron

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

The UDRP has proven to be an effective means of resolving domain name disputes. There are, however, a number of shortcomings in the UDRP that affect its legitimacy and fairness. The most glaring of these lies in the failure to delineate the elements outlined in section 4(a) of the UDRP and in the application of Rule 15(a) of the Rules for Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the ‘‘Rules’’).4 These shortcomings have resulted in inconsistency in the decisions of arbitral panels. As it stands, complainants are unable to ascertain the case they must meet in order to succeed and respondents are …

Open Source, Open Arms: An Open-Ended Question, Alana Maurushat

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This paper is structured to address several aspects and challenges to the open source movement. Beginning with an outline of the historical and cultural components of the open source movement, the paper will move on to explore the economic and philosophical underpinnings of intellectual property. It will be demonstrated that open source finds itself uniquely situated within these theories and doctrines. The questions that open source poses for intellectual property will then be examined. My arguments will stem from the general premise that open source is threatened by three mechanisms: the uncertainty of the validity of open source licenses, potentially …