Public Safety committee  Good morning, and thank you very much for the invitation to come and speak. I'm a law professor at the University of Ottawa, where I hold the Canada Research Chair in Internet and e-commerce law. I'm also a syndicated weekly columnist on law and technology issues for the Toronto

Public Safety committee  The example that Mr. Sotiriadis gave focused on someone burning these DVDs and then selling them at huge commercial profit. It seems to me that's a pretty clear case of where the Copyright Act's criminal provisions would well apply, where someone is making a copy without authoriz

Public Safety committee  I think you've raised a number of interesting questions. Have things changed due to globalization? I think they probably have. Technology and the Internet have clearly made it both easier to copy and easier to distribute. I don't think it's necessarily a surprise that you're lo

Public Safety committee  I must admit that I don't see a huge amount of difference between the two, and in fact I don't think the law necessarily treats them differently either. Someone who wrongfully practises law using a fake degree is going to be subject to some sort of charges, and the law can crack

Public Safety committee  Thanks. It's an interesting comment. I'd raise a couple of things, since it's a theme that has recurred with a number of people who have spoken. First, this notion that people who buy fake Louis Vuitton handbags are going to cheat on their taxes strikes me as a dramatic stretch

Public Safety committee  I think the practical reality is that these are not people who are necessarily more likely to commit crimes, or the like. I just don't see any kind of evidence for that at all. I do think there are some people whose respect for certain sorts of laws have diminished. Let's take i

Public Safety committee  I think a lot of those points are really terrific. There are people out there who argue that counterfeiting forces people to innovate when they're facing competition from both legitimate competitors and otherwise. I'd also note that this notion that Canada is not innovative, o

Public Safety committee  That's a terrific question. I'm always glad to have people read my blog. I thought it was a very powerful presentation from the witnesses, and my sense was that the committee was very sympathetic. If the government was to move forward with health and safety issues, as I say, I

Public Safety committee  I think if we had the appropriate counterbalances to ensure that what they are confiscating is counterfeit, perhaps it would be helpful. As I think we already heard, though, that strikes many as a difficult burden to put on border security. I note, in many instances, that the um

Public Safety committee  It's already illegal to go into a—

Public Safety committee  No. It is an infringement of copyright law to make an unauthorized copy of that movie. Full stop. If you go ahead with the intent to distribute, as we are led to believe is occurring, that then brings both potential jail time and penalties. I would argue that we already have le

Public Safety committee  I have just a very quick intervention. I'm certainly sympathetic to those who see the potential for civil remedies to try to deal with this issue, but I think it's important to recognize that it's necessary to be somewhat cautious even there. In the United States they have statu

Public Safety committee  The Supreme Court of Canada has already tried to make the call, arguing that we have fair dealing under the current Copyright Act, which, it argues, ought to be interpreted in a broad and liberal manner such that even copies, in certain circumstances, of full articles would be se

Public Safety committee  I believe some of our trading partners do have stronger border measures. The United States would certainly be one such example. The question becomes whether or not they're effective. As I noted, one only needs to walk down Canal Street in Manhattan to recognize that this is not e

Public Safety committee  Yes, they have changed their mind. Initially they wanted it excluded. The sense was that the civil remedies, I suppose, might well allow them to go after the potential proceeds as opposed to the Crown itself through proceeds of crime. They now have, obviously, before that committ