E-TIPS

In response to a privacy complaint about the practice of fingerprinting by the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) of Law School Admission Test (LSAT) candidates, in early 2006 the Federal, Alberta and British Columbia Privacy Commissioners launched a joint investigation (previously reported in ETIPS®, Canadian Privacy Commissioners Conduct Probe into LSAT Fingerprinting Practice, Vol 4, No 17, March 1, 2006).

In Canadian Private Copying Collective v First Choice Recording Media Inc (2008 FC 636), Mr. Justice Hugesson of the Federal Court found three companies and their two directors liable for penalties of more than $30m because they failed to pay the private copying levy on blank CDs.

Three of the largest US ISPs have agreed to take steps to combat the spread of child pornography on the Internet. The Attorney General of New York State, Andrew Cuomo, announced on June 10, 2008 that Verizon, Time Warner Cable, and Sprint will undertake the following:

The New York State Appeals Court, 3rd Department, has ruled that police do not need to obtain a warrant to place a global positioning system (GPS) device on a driver's vehicle and track the movement of the vehicle on public roadways.

The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) is accepting comments until July 7, 2008 on proposed amendments to the Industrial Design Regulations (Regulations) published on June 7, 2008 in the Canada Gazette. The purpose of the proposed amendments is to modernize the industrial design regulatory regime by making it "more user-friendly, cost-effective and responsive to clients' needs". More specifically, the amendments:

Masato Nakatsuji, the creator of a malicious computer virus, was recently convicted in Japan, not of creating a virus, but of copyright infringement, thereby putting into question the efficacy of laws available to fight such offences. The case should also raise questions in the international community about the adequacy of protection available against cybercrime in Japan, and prompt a closer look at the laws available elsewhere, including Canada.

In Genencor International Inc v Canada (Commissioner of Patents) 2008 FC 608, Justice Gibson of the Federal Court dismissed an appeal from the decision of a patent re-examination board (Board) to cancel all claims of Patent No 2093422 (Genencor Patent), owned by Genencor International Inc (Genencor).

In October 2007, Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade announced that it would engage in discussions with countries including the United States, Mexico, the European Union, Switzerland, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand to develop an Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). The goal of ACTA is to combat counterfeiting and piracy by focusing on international cooperation, enforcement practices and legal frameworks. By March 2008, informal discussions had taken place and formal negotiations are expected soon.

In October 2007, Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade announced that it would engage in discussions with countries including the United States, Mexico, the European Union, Switzerland, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand to develop an Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). The goal of ACTA is to combat counterfeiting and piracy by focusing on international cooperation, enforcement practices and legal frameworks. By March 2008, informal discussions had taken place and formal negotiations are expected soon.

In 2004, the federal Government established a Task Force on Spam to oversee implementation of an Anti-Spam Action Plan. In its Final Report to the Minister of Industry in 2005 the Task Force recommended that the Government "establish in law a clear set of rules to prohibit spam and other emerging threats to the safety and security of the Internet (e.g. botnets, spyware, keylogging) by enacting new legislation and amending existing legislation as required". (For further information, see ETIPS®, "Canadian Minister of Industry Announces Anti-Spam Task Force", Vol. 2, No. 25, May 26, 2004).

The Premier of Ontario, Dalton McGuinty, announced that he is considering banning the use of electronic devices, not just cell phones, on the province's highways.

The practice by an ISP of limiting customers' Internet usage, known as traffic shaping, has prompted a level of opposition based on considerations of privacy and a principle of "net neutrality". Recently, the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission announced that it would probe ISP traffic shaping (see E-TIPS®, "CRTC Launches Probe into Internet Traffic Management Practices", Vol 6, No 23, May 21, 2008).

The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) is implementing changes to the public registry of ".ca" domain name holders. Currently, when a registrant registers a ".ca" domain name, the registrant's contact information and e-mail address is posted in a publicly accessible database (WHOIS database).

The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), the governing body that deals with Canadian broadcasting and telecommunications issues, has launched an information probe into Internet traffic management practices. The probe is to gather information in preparation for making a final disposition in a dispute between Bell Canada and the Canadian Association of Internet Providers (CAIP) over alleged “traffic shaping”. CAIP had applied to the CRTC for an interim injunction to stop Bell’s wholesale Internet traffic management practices. The CRTC refused to grant the injunction in a decision released last week.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has issued a call for comments on the topic of broadcasting in new media, that is, the effect on broadcasting of the new digital technologies and platforms. Specifically, the CRTC would like to hear from the public on:

In a summary judgment motion brought by seven recording labels suing music downloaders, Judge Neil Wake of the Arizona District Court in the case of Atlantic Recording Corporation v. Howell found that there is no "making available" right under US copyright law and that the downloading of music by third parties does not constitute "distribution" by the person making those files available.

As of May 12, 2008, the Industrial Design office of the Canadian Intellectual Property Office has eliminated fees for the recordal of documents, except assignments and licences. The fee of $100 per design will still apply for recordal of assignments and licences. The Industrial Design office has indicated that the purpose of the change is to encourage owners of industrial designs to update ownership information.

In the US District Court for the District of Oregon, Payless Shoesource Inc (Payless) was found to infringe Adidas of America Inc's (Adidas) THREE STRIPE trade-mark in the recent decision of Adidas America Inc et al v Payless ShoeSource Inc (No. 01-1655).

Charter Communications Inc (Charter), an ISP and the third largest cable operator in the US, plans to test a web-tracking program in four cities which will track its customers' web browsing, including search terms and URLs visited, and use that information to provide targeted advertising.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (County) recently passed an ordinance which declares music and video piracy a public nuisance. In doing so, the County was supported by the Recording Industry Association of America and the Motion Picture Association of America. The new ordinance authorizes: