E-TIPS

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is widely expected to rule imminently that voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) transmissions should be regulated the same way as traditional phone services.

On April 21, 2005, the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) announced that its membership (which includes all major Canadian cell phone suppliers) will act upon a federal government budget directive, and create an implementation plan by September 1, 2005, setting a timeline for full telephone number portability. Portability will include exchange of numbers between cell phone carriers and from landline carriers to cell phone carriers.

The Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Jennifer Stoddart, has released her findings regarding the breach of privacy represented by misdirected faxes from Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC).

Following a year-long investigation, the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) recently announced the break-up of several Internet rings involved in the online sale of drugs.

The United States achieved partial victory in its World Trade Organization (WTO) appeal, Re United States: - Measures Affecting the Cross-Border Supply of Gambling and Betting Services. The WTO Appellate Body report, issued April 7, 2005, reversed the earlier finding of a WTO Panel, and found that the US legislation against gambling (see the Wire Act, the Travel Act and the Illegal Gambling Business Act) is necessary to protect public morals and order. However, the WTO Appellate Body also affirmed that the United States was in violation of its international obligations as the Interstate Horseracing Act applies remote betting rules differently as between foreign and domestic bookies.

The "nearly unlimited freedom" of the Internet and the absence of legislation on Internet child pornography in many countries have left a "dangerous vacuum" exposing children to the risk of abuse worldwide, according to Juan Miguel Petit, United Nations Special Rapporteur on child prostitution and pornography.

The 400,000-member American Bar Association (ABA) has urged Congress to reform US patent law to bring it into line with the rest of the world by adopting a "first-inventor-to-file" rule, instead of its current "first-to-invent" rule.

A BC court has found that the provincial government's outsourcing of personal information to a US-linked company is not an unreasonable infringement of privacy rights.

On Friday, March 30, 2005, without filing for regulatory approval and in the face of Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) Public Notice 2004-2, Bell Canada expanded its VoIP technical trial service from Sherbrooke to a full offering including Sherbrooke, Quebec City and Trois-Rivières. There is some doubt whether Bell Canada is required to seek approval for VoIP services within Ontario and Quebec, but it has elected to move forward in the face of VoIP competition from Vidéotron in Quebec and Rogers in Ontario. Being the local telephone service provider incumbent, Bell Canada is required by the CRTC to file a tariff for changes to its local telephone services in Ontario and Quebec.

On April 4, 2005, as part of its promised regulatory framework under Public Notice 2004-2, the Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) issued Decision 2005-21 on emergency service response. (The Public Notice also indicated that the CRTC will issue decisions on the tariffs and the contribution regime applicable to VoIP and those decisions are expected later this year.)

Chapters 12 (Utility and Subject-Matter) and 16 (Computer Implemented Inventions) of the Canadian Manual of Patent Office Practice (MOPOP) have recently been amended. Published in February 2005, the amendments are part of a process for updating the Canadian Intellectual Property Office's patent examination manual. Although lacking the legal authority of statute or case law, MOPOP is more than a guide for Office procedures; it serves as a de facto statement of the Canadian Intellectual Property Office's policy views.

The United States District Court for Northern California has ordered Sony Computer Entertainment (Sony) to stop selling its PlayStation and PlayStation 2 game consoles in the United States and to pay nearly US $90.1 million to Immersion Corporation (Immersion) for patent infringement.

The meta-search engine "Sharelook" is liable for defamatory content, a Berlin court has ruled. The suit involved a popular local television host, Babette Einstmann, whose name appeared connected to an online adult site when the search term "naked" was entered.

In a case which may have wide implications for US telecommuters, the New York Court of Appeals, in a 4-3 split decision, has ordered an out-of-State man to pay tax to New York on 100% of his income, although he spent no more than 25% of his working time in New York State.

One of the largest insurance companies in the US, MetLife Inc, has a new program for its nearly one million homeowner and renter insurance policyholders – free assistance to resolve identity theft cases. The program, which will be outsourced to a company that specializes in ID theft resolution services, will include preparing affidavits, notifying the police and contacting credit bureaus on behalf of the victimized policyholder.

Last week Canada moved one step closer to dealing with some of the thornier intellectual property issues of the digital era. The proposed amendments to Canada's Copyright Act chart a "made-in-Canada" course to implementing the WIPO 'Internet Treaties', which Canada signed in 1996, turning away from the US and Australian approaches in a number of key areas.

In a Discussion Paper released on March 8, 2005, Canada's Patented Medicines Prices Review Board (PMPRB) has raised the question of whether Canada is on the verge of a experiencing a major shift in the pricing of patented medicines.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) recently held that The Gillette Company (Gillette) could not prevent a competing manufacturer of razor blades from holding out to consumers that its blades were compatible with a particular brand of razor manufactured by Gillette.

Creative Commons is a US-based non-profit organization that promotes the sharing of intellectual works. To support this goal, Creative Commons makes available to creators free pre-made forms of licence. Using these licences, a creator can make works available to the public without charge, but can limit the ways in which the work can be used under the licence.

Recently, the Hamburg High Regional Court held that an online offer for sale which did not clearly disclose added delivery costs breached German consumer protection laws.