Science and Technology Law Commons^™

Rethinking Online Privacy In Canada: Commentary On Voltage Pictures V. John And Jane Doe, Ngozi Okidegbe

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This article examines the Voltage decision, with the view that the bona fide standard safeguards intellectual property rights at the cost of online privacy rights and will proceed in three parts. Part I provides a brief contextualization of the issues. Part II is an analysis of the Voltage decision. Part III examines how the bona fide standard is a relatively low threshold. This article concludes by considering the possibility of shifting to a higher standard for disclosure, as well as a possible solution for the effect that a higher standard could have on copyright owners.

Near-Field Communication Technology: Regulatory And Legal Recommendations For Embracing The Nfc Revolution, Allan Richarz

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Despite its ease and convenience, NFC technology raises a number of privacy issues. Chief among these concerns are the collection, retention, and usage of personally-identifying information contained within NFC-enabled devices by both private and public entities. Within that category, the most pressing privacy issues inherent in the collection and usage of such information relate to real-time tracking or after-the-fact habit profiling and identity theft. As well, privacy issues persist around the means used, if any, to secure and protect that information from unauthorized third parties both at the end-user and systemic database levels.

In light of these concerns, it is …

Book Review: Juries In The 21st Century, By Jacqueline Horan, Vanessa Macdonnell

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

In Juries in the 21st Century, Jacqueline Horan immerses the reader in a discussion of how jury trials operate, how they could be more effective, and how they should adapt to emerging technologies. The book makes three contributions to the existing legal literature. First, it challenges basic assumptions about how juries operate. Horan demonstrates that not all features of modern jury trials are essential or even useful. She argues convincingly that the existing features of the jury system should only be retained if they contribute positively to the process by which the jury arrives at a verdict. This leads Horan …

Toward A Jurisprudence Of Drug Regulation, Matthew Herder

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Efforts to foster transparency in biopharmaceutical regulation are well underway: drug manufacturers are, for example, legally required to register clinical trials and share research results in the United States and Europe. Recently, the policy conversation has shifted toward the disclosure of clinical trial data, not just trial designs and basic results. Here, I argue that clinical trial registration and disclosure of clinical trial data are necessary but insufficient. There is also a need to ensure that regulatory decisions that flow from clinical trials — whether positive (i.e. product approvals) or negative (i.e. abandoned products, product refusals, and withdrawals) — are …

Legislating Trust, John D. Gregory

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

As governments in Canada and elsewhere have considered statutes to ensure that electronic communications are legally effective, they have invariably had to face questions about the reliability of those communications. Can we trust electronic messages, documents, and signatures? Are they the same in law as if they were on paper? What conditions should be imposed in order to give us the right assurances that we can trust them? To answer these questions properly, we need to understand the nature of “trust” and the extent to which legislation can be a source of it, and what other sources should be enlisted …

Atteinte À La Vie Privée Et Publicité Comportementale, Virginie Blanchette-Séguin

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Le présent texte aura pour objet les questions relatives à la vie privée que soulève la publicité comportementale et le suivi des activités des individus qu’elle implique par définition. Pour ce faire, nous délimiterons d’abord le spectre du droit à la vie privée en droit québécois dans ce contexte (I.) et nous poursuivrons selon une approche plus critique en nous prononçant sur les différents arguments pouvant être soulevés quant à l’absence d’une perception humaine dans une violation potentielle du droit à la vie privée (II.)

Fan Fiction And Canadian Copyright Law: Defending Fan Narratives In The Wake Of Canada's Copyright Reforms, Rebecca Katz

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Amateur, non-commercial writing based on contemporary copyrighted works — “fan fiction” — is a practice that is worth defending despite its unclear status vis a vis copyright law. In this article, I assess how Canadian fan authors may defend their works using Canadian copyright law. I argue that the recent copyright reforms are promising for fan and other second generation creators. The new fair dealing categories of parody and satire are positive steps, though the broad and technologically neutral non-commercial user-generated content provi-sion may be the most promising reform of all. I begin with an exploration of the benefits of …

Code Is Law, But Law Is Increasingly Determining The Ethics Of Code: A Comment, Jonathon Penney

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

“Code is Law”, the aphorism Larry Lessig popularized, spoke to the importance of computer code as a central regulating force in the Internet age. That remains true, but today, overreaching laws are also increasingly subjugating important social and ethics questions raised by code to the domain of law. Those laws — like the CFAA and DMCA — need to be curtailed or their zealous enforcement reigned; they deter not only legitimate research but also important related social and ethics questions. But researchers must act too: to re-assert control over the social, legal, and ethical direction of their fields. Otherwise, law …

Warrant Canaries Beyond The First Amendment: A Comment, Jonathon Penney

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Warrant canaries have emerged as an intriguing tool for Internet companies to provide some measure of transparency for users while also complying with national security laws. Though there is at least a reasonable argument for the legality of warrant canaries in the U.S. based primarily on First Amendment "compelled speech" doctrine, the same cannot be said for the use of warrant canaries in other "Five Eyes” intelligence agency countries — United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia — where the legality of warrant canaries has yet to be examined in either cases or scholarship. This comment, which provides an overview …

Regulatory Issues Concerning New Media Alternatives To Television, Michael Rimock

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This article will begin by discussing the significance of over-the-top (OTT) video services in Canada and briefly outline the CRTC’s recent efforts and findings in relation to new media trends. It will then describe the problems with the current regulatory framework and some of the proposed solutions. While some have argued that regulating OTT services like Netflix would level the playing field, I will argue that encouraging competition and decreasing some of the onerous regulations that are currently imposed on Canadian broadcasters would be the best solution since it would benefit both consumers and Canadian corporations.

Patent-Backed Securization For Innovation And Economic Growth In The Life Sciences: A Proposal For Incremental Securities Law Reform, Grace Sweeney

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

In this section, the historical balance struck by securities law between conservatism and innovation was considered in the context of a shifting economic landscape.

In Section II, the life sciences sector will be chosen to illustrate the current barriers impeding capital flow to high-value enterprise, resulting in decreased innovation and economic growth. These include the existence of “ever greening”, non-practicing entities, patent thickets, and onerous transaction costs on upstream patent holders with limited competency.

In Section III, the tool of intangible asset finance will be introduced as a means of harnessing the value of intellectual property assets, and leveraging them …

Proof And Progress: Coping With The Law Of Evidence In A Technological Age, David M. Paciocco

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This article outlines those rules of evidence that are most likely to be called upon to fit new technologies. It identifies some of the challenges that are presented, and identifies modest techniques or suggestions for coping. Those suggestions include taking the kind of relaxed view as to when expert evidence is being offered illustrated by the Ontario Court of Appeal in R. v. Hamilton; taking a functional approach to judicial notice; ensuring that authentication and the “best evidence” rule for electronic records are not applied in a highly technical fashion; understanding the law of hearsay and remaining familiar with …

Social Media: The Law Simply Stated, Steve Coughlan, Robert J. Currie

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

It is a challenge to simply state the law about social media, because there is no such thing as “social media law.” Rather, the law bumps up against social media in many ways. In some cases, existing law can be seamlessly applied to new technologies and means of interaction. In other cases, entirely new paradigms will likely need to be adopted to handle new challenges. Many other cases will fall somewhere in between.

Our goal in this Law Simply Stated is to provide some background on the nature of social media themselves, and then to state the basic law in …

Implementing Technology In The Justice Sector: A Canadian Perspective, Jane Bailey, Jacquelyn Burkell

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Despite the many technological advances that could benefit the court system, the use of computers and network technology to facilitate court procedures is still in its infancy, and court procedures largely remain attached to paper documents and to the physical presence of the parties at all stages. More and more research is focusing on the use of technology to make the legal system more efficient and to reduce excessive legal costs and delays. The goal of this exploratory research project is to examine the experience of justice sector technology implementation from the perspective of individuals involved first-hand in the implementation …

Law's Treatment Of Science: From Idealization To Understanding, Nayha Acharya

Dalhousie Law Journal

Increasing reliance on scientific evidence in litigation has created a demand for discussions directed at enabling a legitimate interaction between science and law The article develops the notion ofprocedural legitimacy-that adherence to legal procedure maintains the legitimacy of the adjudicative system and its outcomes -and applies it to determining how best to admit and use scientific evidence. The problem of undervaluing procedural legitimacy is illustrated through a commentary on contributions to the science and law discussion of Edmond and Roach, and Haack. The author's thesis is that maintaining adjudicative legitimacy depends on procedural rules being applied as vigilantly to science …

A Match Made On Earth: Getting Real About Science And The Law, Susan Haack

Dalhousie Law Journal

Modern legal systems increasingly depend on scientific testimony; but they also need somehow to ensure, so far as possible, that fact-finders aren't misled by highly speculative, poorly-conducted, or dishonestly-presented science. The Critical Common-sensist understanding of science that the author has developed in Defending Science and elsewhere sheds some light on why these interactions between law and science have proven so problematic. But Ms. Acharya's approach to these difficult issues rests on a flawed conception of the supposed "scientificmethod,"and an idea of legal "legitimacy" too weak to bear the weight she places on it; and her claim that the author "idealizes" …

Trial By Theory: A Response To Acharya's "Law's Treatment Of Science: From Idealization To Understanding", Gary Edmond, Kent Roach

Dalhousie Law Journal

Adopting a pragmatic and empirically sensitive approach to the use of forensic science and medicine, this essay defends Edmond and Roach's "AContextual Approach to the Admissibility of the State's Forensic Science and Medical Evidence." The authors reiterate their concerns about idealized approaches to science and expertise and question the utility of philosophically-driven and essentialist models of science for legal practice. In detail the essay explains why privileging process over outcomes in the criminal process (andeven perpetuating the dichotomy) is misguided. The authors affirm the importance of factual accuracy and the socio-institutional illegitimacy generated by wrongful convictions. Drawing upon recent inquiries …

Response To Haack And Edmond/Roach Articles, Nayha Acharya

Dalhousie Law Journal

I am grateful to Professors Edmond and Roach' and Professor Haack2 for their thoughtful replies to my paper, Law 's Treatment of Science: From Idealizationto Understanding.Much like my experience after reading "A Contextual Approach to the Admissibility of the State's Forensic Science and Medical Evidence,"' and Haack's contributions, 4 I have come away from reviewing Edmond and Roach and Haack's replies with a heightened awareness that the admissibility of scientific evidence is significant and complicated. Both replies have raised important concerns that have demanded further attention from me, which I turn to here. My response to Edmond and Roach's Reply …

Digital Content Contracts For Consumers, Marco Loos, Chantal Mak, Lucie Guibault, Lodewijk Pessers, Natali Helberger

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

The application of consumer law to digital content contracts encounters a number of obstacles. Some of these are rather typical for digital content markets, e.g., the legal consequences of the classification of digital content as “goods” or “services”, and more importantly, the absence of general benchmarks to evaluate the conformity of digital content. Other problems, such as the limited usefulness of consumer information and the position of underage consumers, are not as such reserved to digital consumers, but they are amplified in the digital content markets. Moreover, particular attention is paid to the complex relationship between copyright law and consumer …

Corporate Cyber-Censorship: The Problems With Freedom Of Expression Online, Max Rothschild

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This article will explore the problem of the applicability of human rights law to the corporate entities that own and enable the operation of the Internet. The focus will be the status of the right to freedom of expression online, and the different possibilities that have been suggested in order to ensure that users have and are able to exercise this right. As the Internet is a communicative tool that allows for an unprecedented global discourse, freedom of expression is naturally of primary importance in the online context.

Privacy And Publicly Available Personal Information, Teresa Scassa

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This article begins with a review of the structure of PIPEDA in order to situate the exception within its statutory context. This is followed by a detailed consideration of the exception for publicly available information. The article then offers a discussion of whether the scope of this exception should be expanded, and offers an alternative.

Agriculture Under Threat - A Crisis Of Confidence? The Solution: Redefine Adventitious Presence Maximum Levels From Zero To Zero++, Mark Perry, Ramesh Karky

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

The issue of Adventitious Presence (AP) of genes, those that are not “naturally” present in food and crops but rather have been placed there using recombinant deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) technology, has become a hot issue for producers and consumers. It can also be a major problem for exporters. Part of this problem is the reality that zero presence is now impossible to guarantee in some crops and products. Pressure has arisen to establish a Low Level Presence (LLP) threshold, one that is above zero, to be determined at an international level. This would allow crops to be imported and exported …

C-11 Et L'Information Sur Le Régime Des Droits: Regard Rétrospectif Et Prospectif, Antoine Guilman

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

La récente adoption du projet de loi C-11, portant modification de la Loi sur le droit d’auteur, change aujourd’hui considérablement la donne. En effet, son article 41.22 instaure désormais un régime propre à l’information sur le régime des droits. Il devient dès lors nécessaire de remettre en contexte ce texte, pour l’appréhender pleinement et comprendre l’approche retenue par le Canada en matière de protection de l’information sur le régime des droits.

Dans cette perspective, nous porterons, d’une part, un regard rétrospectif sur l’évolution technologique récente et les solutions apportées au plan juridique en matière d’information sur le régime des droits …

Big Brother's Shadow: Decline In Reported Use Of Electronic Surveillance By Canadian Federal Law Enforcement, Nicholas Koutros, Julien Demers

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Despite popular perception of increased government surveillance, particularly since 9/11, a longitudinal study of the Annual Reports on the Use of Electronic Surveillance, published by Public Safety Canada between 1973 and 2011, demonstrates the opposite trend. This article first outlines this decline to situate the use of electronic surveillance by federal law enforcement. The second section of the article advances legal, political, and practical influences which are likely contributing to the diminished use of wiretapping by police. The purpose of this article is to present quantitative evidence to better inform the ongoing debate around extending “lawful access” regimes in Canada. …

Protection From The Protectors: Does The Competition Act Provide An Answer To The Misuse Of Technological Protection Measures?, Keith D. Rose

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

McOrmond suggested that this linkage of authorized content and devices may fall within the definition of tied selling:

If you are a competitor of the members of the DVD CCA, or for any reason cannot sign on to their contractual obligations, you will not receive the keys to encode your own content or decode content. It should be reviewed by the Competition Bureau to determine whether such contractual obligations should be allowed. Tying the ability to access content encoded with DVD CCA keys requiring a DVD CCA-approved access device seems like a text- book example of “tied selling” under section …

Safe To Be Open: Study On The Protection Of Research Data And Recommendations For Access And Usage, Lucie Guibault, Andreas Wiebe

Books

Openness has become a common concept in a growing number of scientific and academic fields. Expressions such as Open Access (OA) or Open Content (OC) are often employed for publications of papers and research results, or are contained as conditions in tenders issued by a number of funding agencies. More recently the concept of Open Data (OD) is of growing interest in some fields, particularly those that produce large amounts of data – which are not usually protected by standard legal tools such as copyright. However, a thorough understanding of the meaning of Openness – especially its legal implications – …

Science On Law's Terms: Implications Of Procedural Legitimacy On Scientific Evidence, Nayha Acharya

LLM Theses

Scientific evidence is relied on more and more in litigation. Discussions and debates aimed at enabling courts to make the best use scientific evidence are increasingly critical. This thesis adds the perspective of procedural legitimacy to the science and law discussion. Procedural Legitimacy is the concept that consistent adherence to legal procedure maintains the overall legitimacy of the legal system, and the validity of its outcomes. I argue that the integrity of legal procedures must be maintained where scientific evidence is presented, so that judicial decisions that rely on scientific evidence are legitimate.

The Limitations Of Regulatory Oversight On Online Video, Jennifer Simpson

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Discussion in this paper focuses on the factors, attributes, and elements of telecom and broadcast regulation in Canada. Part I of this study briefly outlines the history of online video regulation in Canada to date. In Part II speculation as to how online video might be regulated, based on prior decisions of the CRTC, is presented. Part III considers the challenges of applying the Broadcasting Act to new media entities in order to create a regulatory framework for online video. Part IV looks at judicial decisions related to broadcast law that may be used to define the nature of the …

Harvesting The "Forbidden Fruit" Of Biotechnology Research: Genetic Engineering, International Law And The Patentability Of Higher Life Forms In Canada, Eugene C. Lim

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

As the frontiers of science are constantly redefined by the emergence of new technology, patent law often has to struggle to keep pace with the changing conception of what constitutes a protectable “invention”. A key challenge facing patent law in the age of biotechnology lies in ascertaining the extent to which genetically engineered life forms should be protected. A major concern relates to whether such life forms should be excluded from patentability on grounds of ordre public, ethics and morality.

This article critically explores the extent to which patent law in Canada protects this “forbidden fruit” of biotechnological innovation, and …

The Progress Of Science And The Useful Arts: Misadventures In Canadian Law On Patent-Eligible Subject Matter, Ken Bousfield

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Patent-Eligible Subject-Matter in Canada

The law of patent-eligible subject-matter in Canada has become badly muddled. There has been repeated confusion of subject-matter issues with non-subject matter issues such as novelty, obviousness, and utility. There has also been repeated confusion within the following group of issues pertaining to whether subject-matter is patent-eligible: whether a claim is for a mere idea or aggregation or for a patentable invention; whether claimed subject-matter falls within science and the useful arts; and whether claimed subject-matter falls within the statutory classes listed in the definition of “invention”. Echoes of older UK-based cases, relating to statutory provisions …