Privacy Law Commons^™

Institutional Liability In The E-Health Era, James Williams, Craig Kuziemsky

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This paper examines the jurisprudence on institutional liability for medical er- ror. We argue that the existing jurisprudence relies on assumptions that have been made obsolete by technological advances. In particular, we concentrate on the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the health care domain. As we demonstrate, the use of these tools does not merely increase efficiency and support new health care functions; among other effects, ICT can have a profound influence on how health care practitioners make observations, exercise judgment and perform tasks. These tools influence human capabilities (at both the individual and systems level) in …

Overcoming The Digital Tsunami In E-Discovery: Is Visual Analysis The Answer?, Victoria L. Lemieux, Jason R. Baron

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

New technologies are generating potentially discoverable evidence in electronic form in ever increasing volumes. As a result, traditional techniques of document search and retrieval in pursuit of electronic discovery in litigation are becoming less viable. One potential new technological solution to the e-discovery search and retrieval challenge is Visual Analysis (VA). VA is a technology that combines the computational power of the computer with graphical representations of large datasets to enable interactive analytic capabilities. This article provides an overview of VA technology and how it is being applied in the analysis of e-mail and other electronic documents in the field …

The Internet And Protection Of Children Online: Time For Change, Jill Scott

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This article explores the risks for children online and their privacy, with particular focus on the implications of widespread collection, use and retention of data about them. It touches on international standards and national laws that impact Internet activities and the special risk to children’s privacy in today’s ubiquitous computing environment. This is a complex topic that transcends national boundaries and involves both legal and policy issues confronting governments across the world.

Section I provides a brief outline of the online risks for children arising from the scope of data collection and the regulatory challenges of the Internet as it …

Direct-To-Consumer Advertising Of Pharmaceuticals On Television: A Charter Challenge, Elvina C. Chow

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

The Supreme Court of Canada has consistently wrestled with the conflict between legislation designed to protect consumers’ health and the constitutional guarantee of the fundamental freedom of expression. This paper investigates the justification for the current regulatory framework for pharmaceutical advertising on television. Aware that the provisions in the FDA are able to withstand Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Charter) scrutiny, several possible policy initiations are nevertheless proposed.

The paper is divided into five separate sections. Having first introduced DTCA of pharmaceuticals on television in Section I, I will now turn to a more comprehensive examination of DTCA in Canada …

L'Impact D'Internet Sur Les Paradigmes De La Régulation De L'Audiovisuel, Gilles De Saint Exupéry

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Nous nous intéresserons particulièrement à la mutation du paradigme de la régulation de l’audiovisuel classique13 dû à plusieurs facteurs: pour être diffuseur sur les ondes hertzienne il fallait être titulaire d’une licence accordé par l’Etat, sur Internet tout le monde peut l’être à sa guise. Les moyens techniques et financiers ne sont plus une barrière à l’ entrée, le nombre de joueurs qui e ́ tait jusque-là restreint devient, en théorie, incalculable. Le mécanisme de responsabilité mis en place est remis en cause, par la dilution des frontières, l’anonymat, ou l’insolvabilité des diffuseurs. Les modèles d’affaires doivent être revus, le …

Electronic Discovery- Sedona Canada Is Inadequate On Records Management - Here's Sedona Canada In Amended Form, Ken Chasse

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

A paper record can exist without its records system; an electronic record cannot. To use, corrupt, or destroy a paper record, one needs physical access to the records system wherein it is stored. But to use, corrupt, or destroy an electronic record one merely needs electronic access to its records system, from anywhere. Therefore any set of rules or principles for controlling the use of electronic records for any purpose, including electronic discovery, should incorporate the established policies and practices of electronic records management.

As to cost, rules of electronic discovery are needed with which to punish par- ties with …

Lessons From Bilski, Haewon Chung

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

In this paper, I will examine how the U.S. and Canadian courts have approached the patentability of intangible inventions and discuss whether any lessons can be learned from the U.S.’s patent dilemma. In section 2, I will review the American jurisprudence on patentability of intangible inventions. In section 3, I will discuss the potential impact Bilski may have on the American jurisprudence. Section 4 will assess the Canadian jurisprudence on patentability of intangible inventions. In section 5, I will discuss the Federal Court of Canada’s decision in Amazon/FCC. I argue that based on recent events in the American jurisprudence, Canadian …

Prohibiting Medical Method Patents: A Criticism Of The Status Quo, Mark S. Wilke

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Methods of medical treatment are not patentable in Canada. This means that inventions involving the performance of surgery, administration of medicine, or extraction of fluids or tissue for diagnostic tests cannot directly be protected under the current patent regime. However, this prohibition is not an absolute ban. Many medical innovations are patentable, including surgical tools and devices, drugs and other chemical compounds, medical “uses”, diagnostic assays and methods of treat- ing “natural” conditions. The practical reality is that the distinction between what is and what is not patentable is poorly defined. This uncertainty presents a steep challenge for inventors and …

Tax Implications For Non-Residents Conducting E-Commerce In Canada, Mike Nienhuis

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This paper focuses on taxation issues faced by non-resident e-commerce companies with no sustained presence in Canada apart from a web site. The tax liability of foreign corporations with a Canadian subsidiary, a physical Canadian office, or Canadian-based employees or agents will not be considered, even though there is substantial overlap in some of the relevant issues. By e-commerce companies we refer broadly to any firms conducting their primary business — whether business- to-business (B2B) or business-to-consumer (B2C) — by means of the internet.

In the first section we outline the framework for Canada’s taxation of non-residents conducting business in …

Location-Based Services And Privacy, Teresa Scassa, Anca Sattler

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

In this paper we begin by describing location-based services, their evolution and their future directions. We then outline privacy issues raised by such services. In Part III we consider how current Canadian data protection laws apply to location-based services, and indicate where such laws fall short of addressing the full range of issues raised by location-based services. Part IV of the paper explores some technological methods to address the privacy challenges raised by location-based services. The paper concludes with a series of recommendations.

The Admissibility Of Electronic Business Records, Ken Chasse

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

The business record provisions of the Evidence Acts determine a record’s admissibility by evidence of its history, which must be the product of “the usual and ordinary course of business” (or comparable “business activity” wording). The electronic record provisions determine a record’s admissibility by the, “integrity of the electronic records system in which it is recorded or stored.” The difference is, records management (RM) based on “paper records concepts” versus “electronic records systems concepts.” The former is subjective — each business determines its own “usual and ordinary course of business”; the latter, objective — in accor- dance with authoritative standards …

Personalization, Analytics, And Sponsored Services: The Challenges Of Applying Pipeda To Online Tracking And Profiling Activities, Eloïse Gratton

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

In 2008, the online advertising industry was found to be worth 27 billion dollars, a figure that was projected to double over the subsequent four years.1 The reason for this extraordinary market growth can be explained by two factors. To begin with, current technology now makes it possible to gather a great variety of information associated with a particular device or individual, including browsing history, which can be used to create a profile specific to that device or individual. This practice facilitates more personalized advertising, tailored to the interests and tastes of the consumer. Secondly, many online services, in the …

Interpreting Copyright Law And Internet Facts, Cameron Hutchison

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This paper probes interpretation issues elicited by the impact of digital technologies and the Internet on copyright law. The purpose of the paper is to instill a coherent framework for analyzing copyright law when it encounters Internet or digital facts. In part one, I propose a methodology of statutory interpretation that helps suitably adapt statutory language to technological developments. In essence it is this: courts should examine the language of the operative provision in its statutory context and in light of its purpose. A contextual interpretation of a broadly conceived rule can reveal a legislative intention that certain kinds of …

Approval Of New Pharmacogenomic Tests: Is The Canadian Regulatory Process Adequate?, Yann Joly, Emma Ramos-Paque

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

In the first part of our analysis, we will examine the impact which pharmacogenomics is expected to have on drug research and development, on the drug approval process and on post-marketing surveillance and clinical practice. This will allow us to show how pharmacogenomic testing could be beneficial to drug companies, regulatory bodies, and patients. The second part of our analysis will focus on the regulatory framework applicable to the approval of pharmacoge- nomic tests in Canada, although we are aware of the fact that most manufacturers decide to approve their tests outside of Canada. As mentioned, the applicable regu- lations …

The Regulation Of Personal Health Record Systems In Canada, James Williams, Jens H. Weber-Jahnke

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This paper analyzes the regulatory regime for PHR systems in Canada. The first part of the paper consists of an introduction to some of the major issues associ- ated with these applications, with a focus on privacy, security, data quality, and interoperability. Following this preliminary discussion, the bulk of the analysis deals with the legal instruments that apply to PHR products developed by private sector organizations. Due to space constraints, the paper concentrates on legislative and regulatory instruments, deferring a discussion of the possible impacts of tort, product liability, and contract law on PHR systems. Despite this omission, it is …

Canada's Digital Economy Strategy: Toward An Openness Framework, Michael Geist

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This essay is an expanded version of my submission to the digital economy consultation. It opens with general issues such as digital policy leadership, cost issues, and emphasizes the need for a principle-based strategy that embraces the benefits associated with “open,” whether open access, open spectrum or open data. It then provides specific recommendations on a wide range of issues including tele- communications policy, privacy, and copyright.

Canada's Current Position With Respect To Sound Marks Registration: A Need For Change?, Marie-Jeanne Provost

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This paper analyses and criticizes Canada’s position on sound marks registration in order to recommend the ways in which Canadian policy-makers could further act in order to advance this area of law. The first part of this paper exposes the fundamental concepts of trade-marks as they are necessary to the comprehension of the problems surrounding the registration of sound marks. In the second part, legal considerations associated with the registration of sound marks are discussed. More specifically, the visual requirement, the issue of “use,” the concept of distinctiveness and the question of overlap with copyright are assessed. In the third …

Canadian Personal Data Protection Legislation And Electronic Health Records: Transfers Of Personal Health Information In It Outsourcing Agreements, Dara Lambie

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Personal data protection and privacy of personal health information in the electronic era is a broad topic that includes consent, security measures and access considerations. The focus of this article is on one component of the larger picture: data transfers of personal health information that occur in the context of informa- tion technology (“IT”) outsourcing. If the societal good envisioned by an inter-jurisdictional EHR is to be fully realized, then the necessity of outsourcing is a reality that must be addressed.

Inadequate: The Apec Privacy Framework & Article 25 Of The European Data Protection Directive, Stuart Hargreaves

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

The EU and APEC approaches represent two different ways of thinking about the purpose of privacy rights in personal information (a.k.a. “informational privacy” or “data privacy”). The European approach sees integrity and control over information about oneself as inherent to human dignity; informational privacy is treated as a fundamental right subject only to limited restrictions. In contrast, the approach evinced by APEC is a market-oriented cost/benefit calculus; control over personal information is seen as a beneficial policy goal when it can increase consumer confi- dence and promote economic growth — the implication being that it can also more easily give …

Book Review - Intellectual Property Rights And The Life Science Industries: Past, Present, And Future, Chidi Oguamanam

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Our so-called post-industrial society is one whose axial feature is the interac- tion between computer-driven digital and life science-driven bio-technologies. The primary legal mechanism that undergirds the allocation of rights in this new infor- mation-centred epoch is intellectual property. Perhaps only a few industrial sectors have benefitted more from the dynamics of that interaction than the pharmaceutical industry. Perhaps also, only a few industrial sectors have fully appreciated and opti- mally exploited the power of intellectual property than that sector. How did that happen? How has it continued to unfold, and what does the future hold for the continued co-evolution …

La Cyberintimidation: Analyse Juridique, Karen D. Levin

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Dans ce mémoire va être traitée une analyse juridique de la cyberintimidation. Dans une première partie, nous tenterons de définir le terme « cyberintimidation » et les enjeux qui s’y rattachent. En deuxième lieu, nous examinerons la motivation qui mène à la cyberintimidation, ainsi que la manière dans laquelle l’acte se produit. Troisièmement, nous évaluerons les provisions du droit criminel fédéral, des droits de la personne, et du droit des délits civils afin de déterminer l’efficacité de notre système juridique à détourner la cyberintimidation. Finalement, nous trancherons la question de réforme qui se propose au Canada, la comparant aux réformes …

A New Approach To Data Security Breaches, Gideon Emcee Christian

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This article examines the problems associated with data security breaches from two different, but not mutually exclusive, perspectives. The first part of the article examines the need for notification in the event of a data security breach and proposes an amendment of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Document Act (PIPEDA) to create a legal, or statutory, obligation in Canada to compel disclosure or notification of data security breaches. My recommendations are based on the examination of legislation from other legal jurisdictions, highlighting, where necessary, the shortcomings of the legislation, which ought to be taken into consideration in amending PIPEDA …

Groundwork For Assessing The Legal Risks Of Cyberjustice, François Senécal, Karim Benyekhlef

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

It is clear that the use of information technology is quickly becoming a necessity for the justice system. In civil cases, delays and costs are causing individuals to abandon the courts, and cases that make it to trial are of ever-increasing complexity. Moreover, public security is weakened by the inefficient and cumbersome conditions by which criminal justice information circulates among the various stakeholders, such as the police, prosecutors, the courts, penitentiaries and parole boards, to name only a few. It becomes apparent that information technology has much to offer individuals involved in court cases and the justice system as a …

Strong Medicine: Patents, Market, And Policy Challenges For Managing Neglected Diseases And Affordable Prescription Drugs, Taiwo A. Oriola

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

The article is divided into six parts. Part one deals with the introduction, part two discusses the evolution of modern medicine and the socio-economic dynamics that shape the current prescription drug economics, part three discusses the pharmaceutical costs conundrum, part four analyses neglected diseases and the scale of the problem, part five discusses the role of patents on the pharmaceuticals costs trajectory and reviews literature on possible alternatives to promoting incentives for pharmaceuticals R&D, and part six sums up the discourse and reiterates the solutions to the problems identified.

The Patentability Of Electromagnetic And Acoustic Signals In Canada, Natalie Raffoul

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

The issue of the patentability of electromagnetic and acoustic signals has not been litigated in Canada. If, however, the issue does come forward for litigation, Canadian courts may decide differently than their American colleagues did. The Supreme Court of Canada’s ‘Harvard Mouse’ decision shows that the Canadian law on patentable subject matter differs from American law. Under the Canadian definition of manufacture, electromagnetic and acoustic signals could constitute patentable subject matter.

Information Privacy In Public Space: Location Data, Data Protection And The Reasonable Expectation Of Privacy, Teresa Scassa

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This article considers whether the permissive disclosure provisions of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and its substantially similar counterparts mean that law enforcement agents have ready access to information about our movements and activities, or whether s. 8 of the Charter plays a role in limiting the circumstances in which disclosure without notice or consent may take place.

Web 2.0 Regulation: A Risk Management Process, Pierre Trudel

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

In order to describe the law relating to Web 2.0, we have to look at the normativity that really operates there. Effective norms engender strong enough risks for stakeholders that they find it in their interest to comply. State legislation is not the only thing that governs Internet activities; the normativity that governs the resources associated with Web 2.0 flows from what the technology permits and prohibits, and also largely from stakeholder practices. Configurations and practices create risk or shift risk onto others. However, state regulators may consider that the risks arising out of Internet activities are worrisome enough that …

Fair Dealing Or Fare Stealing?: Implications Of Canadian Copyright Law Reform On The Online Classroom, Louis Grilli, Daniel Huff, Andrea Shakespeare, Michael Bliemel

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This article first examines Canadian copyright law as it pertains to distance education with a detailed review of literature, legislation and jurisprudence, including a comparison with influential law from the United States. Included in this analysis are the opinions of specialists and experts on distance education and copyright in the university environment, who were interviewed during this research. Based on the research findings, we have identified three distinct legislative outcomes. For each, we provide recommendations on how a university and other stakeholders might best protect their interests when confronted with any of these three possibilities.

The Canadian Public Domain: What, Where, And To What End?, Carys J. Craig

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

In this article, I explore the important body of scholarship that has emerged over this time on the substance, nature, and role of the public domain. I offer some concrete definitions of the public domain in the copyright context, identify some ongoing sources of debate in the literature, and highlight some particularly significant voices in public domain discourse. In doing so, my aim is twofold: first, I mean to present a fairly comprehensive, but concise, review of this academic movement that has been directed towards substantiating and politicizing the concept of the public domain; and second, I hope to re-situate …

Fessing Up To Facebook: Recent Trends In The Use Of Social Network Websites For Civil Litigation, Pamela D. Pengelley

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

For professional “fact-gatherers” such as lawyers, insurance adjusters, claims handlers and private investigators, the vast wealth of information that people volunteer on Facebook can be a goldmine or a smoking gun, depending on your perspective. The personal information contained in a Facebook profile may be highly relevant to matters at issue in litigation; when dealing with claims, particularly in the personal injury context, the information contained on a Facebook page can make or break a case. It is, therefore, crucial that legal and insurance professionals stay informed of new developments in this emerging area of law. This article, written with …