Category Archives: Intellectual Property

Fair Play and Griefing in Second Life

Terra Nova has an interesting piece on the issue of fair play in virtual worlds. I think the question is whether “griefing” could be considered infringement to fair play, which implies that fair play exists as a principle, and infers … Continue reading

Posted in Intellectual Property, Video Games, Virtual Worlds | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Michael Geist lauds CRIA; jeers RIAA’s “hassle” policy

The difference between commercial piracy and private copying was clear in the Copyright Act’s s.80, it was made clearer by BMG v. John Doe, and now we can see the difference in action. Professor Michael Geist compares the RIAA’s “hassle … Continue reading

Posted in Intellectual Property | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Selling your everything: Non-comp clauses, IP, and employment contracts

I would like to write, today, about a murky subject I’ve been thinking about for a few weeks. The various forms the germ of this post has assumed over those weeks all stem from a particular type of clause – … Continue reading

Posted in Business Law, Information Technology, Intellectual Property, Video Games, Virtual Worlds | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Congratulations, Professor Michael Geist!

Prof. Michael Geist of the University of Ottawa is the Canada Research Chair in E-Commerce and Internet Law, an advocate for users’ rights in the copyfight, and the recipient of an EFF Pioneer Award: Slaw Electronic Frontier Foundation Professor Geist … Continue reading

Posted in Information Technology, Intellectual Property | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Reconstituting the Copyfight Polarization, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Corporation

I was recently discussing with a colleague on Tazzu the new allies the Copyfight seems to have found: Tazzu Discussion Thread: “The Forces of CopyRightness gain another ally” Ars Technica: The Privacy Commissioner is not a big fan of the … Continue reading

Posted in Business Law, Intellectual Property | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Ford gets confused and shoots itself in the foot

So Ford Motor Company is a little bit confused. They are claiming some form of intellectual property in photographs of specific Ford Mustangs. Not in the abstract image of the iconic car, but in the photographs taken by enthusiastic owners … Continue reading

Posted in Business Law, Intellectual Property | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

EULAs aren’t all bad

End-User License Agreements aren’t all bad. They are necessary for interration – that incorporation-like thing for virtual worlds that Castronova talks about – in order to set out and delimit the game space. It is when they violate Castronova’s closed/open … Continue reading

Posted in Information Technology, Intellectual Property, Virtual Worlds | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

DMCA-Free Canada: a land of opportunity

Technological Protection Measures (TPMs) are the fortresses of code, silicon, and/or law that enforce Digital Rights Management (DRM). By not criminalizing (as a per se offense) the circumvention of TPMs, Canada keeps the doors open to innovation. Period. Innovation is … Continue reading

Posted in Information Technology, Intellectual Property | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Copyfight: it’s about use

Why does the history matter? From Stationers to Sony, it’s about use. In this discussion about the Canadian Copyright Reform Bill, we are really discussing several legal ideas, which though often conflated are subtly different. History demonstrates this conflation through … Continue reading

Posted in Communications, Information Technology, Intellectual Property | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Copyfight: the roots of the conflict

Here’s the irony of the thing: Our copyright regime, in Canada, is rooted in Crown monopoly in the 16th century – a monopoly created by charter to ease the Crown’s ability to censor published materials and prevent sedition. Two things … Continue reading

Posted in Communications, Information Technology, Intellectual Property | Tagged , , | 1 Comment