Ben Farrow is a JD candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School. On October 27, 2011 the European Commission adopted a recommendation (2011/711/EU) calling for the nations of the EU to pool their resources and renew their commitment to the digitisation of European cultural texts and artifacts. These cultural materials are stored in Europe’s digital library, […]
Brent Randall is a JD candidate at the University of Ottawa. The European Comission recently facilitated the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between European libraries, publishers, authors and their collecting societies. The MOU sets out key principles that allow cultural institutions in Europe, such as libraries, an easier way to digitizing out-of-commerce books […]
Mekhala Chaubal is a JD candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School. The dust over Google’s 6-year long litigation with the Authors Guild has not even begun to settle, when already the next copyright infringement dispute between the two parties seems to be looming. For more information regarding the now-infamous Google Books Lawsuit, see the article […]
Matt Lonsdale is a graduate of the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University. The US Court of Appeals, Second Circuit has affirmed that the “first sale” doctrine of US copyright law, codified as section 109(a) of the Copyright Act, does not apply to works manufactured outside of the United States.
Nora Sleeth is a JD candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School. The National Writers Union, The Authors Guild, and the American Society of Journalists and Authors, along with 21 individual writers, have filed a class action lawsuit against several major print and electronic publications. On August 17, 2011, the US Court of Appeals for the […]
Kalen Lumsden is a JD candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School. The University of Kansas, one of the first universities with a formal open access policy, along with 21 other universities, have joined together to form the Coalition of Open Access Policy Institutions (COAPI). Their mandate will be to craft policies to implement open access […]
Taylor Vanderhelm is a JD candidate at the University of Alberta. Marvel Worldwide Inc. won its case to retain the copyrights to comic characters against the estate of legendary comic creator Jack Kirby. The suit was in response to Kirby’s heirs filing of 45 notices of copyright termination in order to reassert their claim to […]
Dan Whalen is a JD candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School. Online file-sharing company Xunlei Limited recently announced that it has indefinitely postponed its initial public offering and NASDAQ listing due to unfavourable market conditions. Although some would claim the setback as a small victory against a leading copyright pirate, inspection of the company’s continued […]
Brent Randall is a JD candidate at the University of Ottawa. England and Wales Court of Appeal ruled on July 27, 2011 that headlines are capable “of being literary works independent of the article to which they relate” and that using article extracts without the author’s permission could constitute copyright infringement of the work.
Andrew Baker is a LLB/BCL candidate at McGill University Faculty of Law. WIPO members have recently met to discuss a potential treaty for the disabled that would create minimum exceptions in copyright laws to facilitate access to copyrighted works by persons who are disabled, and permit the sharing of accessible works across borders.