Tag Archives: DMCA

Are there benefits to “piracy”?

Posted on November 6, 2008 by Jeremy Costin

The pro-copyright lobby groups would have you believe that all unauthorized reproduction (and distribution), colloquially known (inaccurately) as piracy, is horrid for the industries concerned, and is destroying them. Many say that unauthorized copying actually benefits the concerned industries. Do you think this is true? If so, which industry benefits the most? I’ve created a poll and I would like you to let me know what you think. Feel free to comment to this post. Continue reading →

Posted in Business Law, Information Technology, Intellectual Property, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Hedy Fry’s Copyright Balance

Posted on August 6, 2008 by Jeremy Costin

Honourable Member of Parliament Dr. Hedy Fry responded to Bill C-61 in a letter to constituent Chuck LeDuc Diaz, which he published on his blog. I respond to Dr. Fry’s letter. She is correct on certain critiques of the Bill, but misses a crucial point in her statement about balanced rights between creator and consumer. Continue reading →

Posted in Intellectual Property, Privacy | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The “Deliverance” of C-61 Begins

Posted on June 19, 2008 by Jeremy Costin

Costin’s Analysis of C-61 begins: This bill is not a brave surge forward into the 21st century for Canada, embracing the Information Age and showing the world that we lead in promoting innovation and civil liberties, that we have the wisdom to strike balance where others are stricken with fear, and that we anticipate rather than kowtow.
This bill is instead sycophantic obsequiousness to groups that should be politically and legally notwithstood according to any definition of Canadian sovereignty or democracy. Continue reading →

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

RIAA and MPAA hijack the border (or someone like them)

Posted on May 28, 2008 by Jeremy Costin

Cyberion, at Tazzu, posted a link to the Vancouver Province story on the threatened border checks (ACTA) on the legitimacy of electronic media. (Cyberion’s post) I had some rather strong feelings, and ranted the following: This is one of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil Liberties, Information Technology, Intellectual Property | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

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

Posted on February 18, 2008 by Jeremy Costin

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

DMCA-Free Canada: a land of opportunity

Posted on January 3, 2008 by Jeremy Costin

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

Posted on December 25, 2007 by Jeremy Costin

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