Category Archives: Intellectual Property

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Cry Havoc! and let slip the dogs of Copyfight!

Not discussing the latest Canadian copyright reform bill, or the Canadian DMCA as it has been touted, to kick off weblawg.net would be like Han Solo ignoring his friend in need barreling down the trench of a moon-sized space station. … Continue reading

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