Digital Identity Digest (January 2019)
What is the best educational measure against piracy? Canada’s government has amended its Copyright Act to clarify that piracy notices can’t demand cash from Canadians. The piracy-notice system took effect in 2015, allowing “copyright holders to send warning emails to people suspected of illegally downloading content such as movies or music,” CBC explains. According to […]
In the News: Screen Composers Guild of Canada Proposes ‘Copyright Tax’ On Internet Use
A proposal by the Screen Composers Guild of Canada (SCGC) to The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, released on September 25, 2018, aims to introduce a ‘copyright tax’ on Internet use, according to the documents released by TorrentFreak [1] In the report [2], the SCGC proposed a tax collected by internet service providers “that is […]
Digital Piracy – Who Decides What is Considered Pirated Material? The Changing Face of Copyright Judgement in Canada (Part 3)
What is the IPRA? The Internet Piracy Review Agency (IPRA) is a proposed non-profit corporation by a coalition of companies including Bell Canada, Rogers, Cineplex, CBC, Corus, Toronto International Film Festival, and Cinémas Guzzo (collectively known as Fair Play Canada) to maintain a list of websites that have hosted or distributed pirated material and force […]
DT Podcast – Episodes 1 & 2: Copyright and Open Access, now available
The Digital Tattoo Podcast – Ep. 1 & 2: Copyright and Open Access The Digital Tattoo Podcast Project explores digital identity issues through interviews and investigations in an engaging audio format. Our first topic is copyright and open access at Canadian Universities. We’ll explore these topics after considering the life of Aaron Swartz, an American […]
The Digital Tattoo Podcast: Episode 1 and 2 about Copyright and Open Access are now available
We’ve been working on bringing you the same exciting digital identity content in a new format. Introducing: The Digital Tattoo Podcast The Digital Tattoo Podcast Project explores digital identity issues through interviews and investigations in an engaging audio format. Our first topic is copyright and open access at Canadian Universities. We’ll explore these themes after […]
Illegal downloading prosecutions over? Think again
If you thought there was nothing to worrying about, you’re wrong. In a Minnesota courtroom this past month, single mother Jammie Thomas-Rasset, was ordered to pay 62,500 USD per song for 24 songs she illegally downloaded from KaZaA, a popular file sharing site. AFP reported that the total fine given was an astronomical 1.5 million dollars. […]
“Could you patent the sun?”
Despite all the ink dedicated to open access as a new publishing model it is in fact an old way. Take for example, Dr. Jonas Salk. Unknown thousands, maybe even you, owe their ability to walk to Dr. Salk. How so? He invented the vaccine for Polio in 1952. The research, creation, and funding of […]
Copyright Cowboy
If you have an interest in copyright law and have not already watched Rip!: A remix manifesto, you need to check it out. The director’s politics are a bit heavy handed but the point is eye opening: copyright law has not always been what copyright law is today. Using mash-up music artist Girl Talk as […]
Canada attempts new copyright law
The Canadian government is about to enter round three of amending its outdated copyright legislation after two prior attempts, Bill C-60 and Bill C-61, died on the parliamentary floor. [linebreak] It is difficult to wade through the jingo of the proposed on-line copyright changes, but in a nutshell the bill legalizes existing practices like personal […]
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