Must Reads

• Access Copyright: 40 Percent Of Non-Quebec University Students Outside Model Licence

  Access Copyright's Executive Director Maureen Cavan tells University Affairs magazine that 40 percent of university students outside of Quebec are currently at institutions that have not signed the Access Copyright model licence. Carleton University, which opted-out of the licence last year, reports that "roughly 80 percent of requests to use copyrighted material were already covered under licences that Carleton held. For the remainder, Carleton either got a digital copy under licence or dealt directly with the publisher or a U.S. copyright clearance agency." Jul.10/12Comments (1)

• Copyright and Innovation: The Untold Story

  Professor Michael Carrier has published the results of a remarkable initiative on copyright and innovation that uses the music industry and Napster as the case study. Carrier interviewed leading executives at major record labels and technology companies in an effort to better understand the implications of the litigation strategy against Napster. The article concludes that there were five losses from the Napster decision and related litigation: lost innovation, lost venture capital, lost markets, lost licensing, and lost magic. Jul.10/12Comments (0)

• Canadian Government Announces Plans To Block Copyright Levy on MicroSD Cards

  The Canadian government announced yesterday that it will use its regulation-making power to block the attempt to apply the private copying levy to MicroSD cards. I noted last November that it had this power to stop a Copyright Board hearing into the matter and that the Canadian Private Copying Collective (the group that manages the private copying levy) had explicitly argued that it could use it to stop the imposition of the levy on media deemed "inappropriate." Jul.04/12Comments (6)

• Twitter Issues Transparency Report

  Twitter has issued a transparency report that discloses government requests for user information along with copyright takedown demands. The report indicates that there were 11 Canadian user information requests in the first half of 2012, behind only the U.S. (easily the most requests) and Japan. Jul.03/12Comments (1)

• Declaration of Internet Freedom

  Dozens of civil society groups have issued a Declaration of Internet Freedom that focuses on five principles: expression, access, openness, innovation, and privacy. Jul.03/12Comments (1)

• Canada's Notice-and-Notice vs. U.S.'s Notice-and-Takedown

  Bob Tarantino has a good primer on the differences between Canada's notice-and-notice system that will take effect with Bill C-11 and the U.S. notice-and-takedown approach. Jun.29/12Comments (0)

• System Access Fee Class Action Lawsuit To Proceed

  The Supreme Court of Canada has allowed a class action lawsuit against the major telecom companies to stand, paving the way for the $19 billion case to continue. Jun.29/12Comments (1)

• Bill C-11 Scheduled For Third Reading at the Senate Today

  Bill C-11 is scheduled for third reading at the Senate today, paving the way for the bill's passage and royal assent tomorrow. I posted my thoughts on the public's impact on the substance of the bill earlier this month. Jun.28/12Comments (9)

• UNESCO's 2012 Paris OER Declaration

  UNESCO held the World Open Educational Resources Congress in Paris last week with delegates releasing a declaration in support of OERs and open licensing frameworks. Jun.28/12Comments (0)

• Maritime Band Facing False Takedown Notices From Universal Music

  The CBC reports that the Maritime band In-Flight Safety has faced multiple false YouTube takedowns by major record label Universal Music. The band has no connection to Universal Music Group, yet the label has ordered the takedown of five of the band's songs. Jun.27/12Comments (7)