Recent Articles

Prof. Ysolde Gendreau on “Canada's chance to bring copyright law into the digital age”

Howard Knopf
March 20, 2012 22:16

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Canadian Copyright Kerfuffle – How NOT to Fix Copyright Law? (with apologies to Bill Patry)

Howard Knopf
March 20, 2012 21:50

I just can’t refrain from weighing in hopefully for one last time on the Knopf/Glover/Katz/Patry (in approximately that chronological order – key links provided below) kerfuffle ostensibly about the status of the “effect on the market” fourth factor in American fair use law. Although this has one...

Performance of Music by Professionals - Dentists Dodge Royalty Extraction in EU

Howard Knopf
March 16, 2012 12:44

 European dentists will no doubt be ecstatic to learn that royalties cannot be extracted from them for music used on their premises since, among other reasons according to the ECJ:...it cannot be disputed that, in a situation such as that in the main proceedings, a dentist who broadcasts...

The Effect on the Market Factor in Fair Dealing/Fair Use Law - What IS the law? #C11

Howard Knopf
March 15, 2012 20:30

Listening out of the corner of my ear to the sometimes insightful but sometimes confused and even misleading testimony at C-11, I thought I heard some suggestions that Parliament should prioritize the “effect on the market” factor in CCH v. LSUC. Here is how the SCC listed the six factors in CCH...

Efforts Escalate to Reverse CCH v. LSUC and Mislead Canada's Parliament in Bill C-11 on the Three-Step Test

Howard Knopf
March 14, 2012 14:34

Unusual efforts continue unabashed and even escalate to somehow convince anyone who will listen that the Supreme Court of Canada got it wrong on fair dealing in its landmark 2004 decision in CCH v. LSUC, and that, if the Court does not “revisit” this decision in the current cases under reserve,...

The Canadian Bar Association Copyright Submission on Bill C-32 (now C-11) - Some Useful Links

Howard Knopf
March 12, 2012 06:12

(Mussorgsky/Stokowski/Disney - 1940)There has been a lot of discussion in recent days about the Canadian Bar Association (CBA) Submission on Bill C-32, the Copyright Modernization Act from February, 2011. That bill is the same as Bill C-11, which is now heading into the homes stretch in Parliament....

#C11 & Just Say No to Policy Bullying and the Imposition of Laws based on Policy-based Evidence Making

Howard Knopf
March 12, 2012 05:56

Beginning on Monday, March 12, 2012 we are going to see “clause by clause” alteration of Bill C-11. What Canadians will not see is what happens behind the scenes. The making of legislation has often been likened to the making of sausage:"There are two things you don’t want to see being made—sausage...

Access Copyright Repertoire Look Up Tool - Beta Version - Not Yet Ready for Prime Time

Howard Knopf
March 10, 2012 05:21

(Lesser Ury: Leser mit Lupe, c. 1895)So, AC has launched an Access Copyright Repertoire Look Up Tool in beta version.  What follows is copied from the AC website with my comments inserted in bold red - except for the links, which are green. AC's words are in black italics. I make no...

On Plagiarism and What It Really Means

Howard Knopf
March 09, 2012 23:13

Anyone reading the National Post this morning might be puzzled as to whether “some of the top” copyright lawyers in Canada actually understand what “plagiarism” really means.So – here is what it means. Please don’t take my word for it. I’ve copied below (with full attribution)  the definition...

"Egregious action" & "serious willful infringement" by Penn law students of Louis Vuitton trademark? - C&D letter

Howard Knopf
March 03, 2012 20:51

So many IP lawyers have become so enamored of the word "egregious" that, if it were a trademark, it would now be seriously "diluted".The Oxford English Dictionary tells us that some of its meanings are as follows: 2.2 Remarkable in a good sense: a.2.a Of persons and personal...