Media in The Media

Blacked-out in the Great White North by Bruce Dowbiggin

Friends - 12 hours 18 min ago

Columnist says that employing the blunt weapon of blacking out U.S. content, especially during the Super Bowl, won't work for a new generation of tech-savvy consumers.

Ottawa refuses to release Globalive decision documents by Iain Marlow

Friends - 12 hours 19 min ago

The federal government has refused to release documents that may reveal how it came to its controversial decision on Globalive.

CTV station takes stock of devastating fire by Erin Anderssen

Friends - 12 hours 20 min ago

Investigators are still trying to determine what caused a fire that ripped though Ottawa's CTV station causing $2.5 million in damages.

European Commission Responds To ACTA Questions

Michael Geist - 17 hours 24 min ago
The European Commission has posted a response to one of the many questions raised by members of the European Parliament about ACTA.  The EC seeks to pacify the ACTA concerns by arguing that the treaty will be limited in scope and is targeted at commercial activities:

The Commission can inform the Honourable Member that the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) will be in line with the body of EU legislation, which fully respects fundamental rights and freedoms and civil liberties, such as the protection of personal data. This includes the Intellectual Property Rights' relevant aspects of the Telecoms package.

ACTA should not contain measures restricting end-users’ access to the internet that would not be appropriate, proportionate and necessary within a democratic society and without a prior, fair and impartial procedure.

It is the Commission's view that ACTA is about tackling large scale illegal activity, often pursued by criminal organisations, that is causing a devastating impact on growth and employment in Europe and may have serious risks to the health and safety of consumers. It is not about limiting civil liberties or harassing consumers.
Categories: Media in The Media

NY Times on ACTA

Michael Geist - 17 hours 26 min ago
The New York Times has a feature story on ACTA today that includes comments from an EU official rejecting a single solution to Internet issues as well as comments from a Swedish official calling for the release of the draft text.
Categories: Media in The Media

Concerns Mount Over British Digital Economy Bill

Michael Geist - 17 hours 27 min ago
The UK Digital Economy Bill is facing mounting criticism, as an influential group of MPs has expressed concern the bill may violate human rights.
Categories: Media in The Media

Another MEP Raises ACTA Concerns

Michael Geist - 17 hours 29 min ago
Finnish Member of the European Parliament Heidi Hautala has added her voice to the concerns over ACTA, calling for greater transparency.
Categories: Media in The Media

British Library To Offer 65,000 Free E-book Downloads

Michael Geist - 17 hours 30 min ago
The British Library plans to make more than 65,000 19th century works of fiction available as free downloads for the public this spring.
Categories: Media in The Media

Canwest Global publishing subsidiary signs DIP financing deal worth $25 million

Friends - Sat, 02/06/2010 - 14:28

Canwest says that its publishing subsidiary has signed a deal for $25 million in debtor-in-possession financing.

OpenMedia.ca in Favour of CRTC Hearing to Improve Rural Internet Access

SaveOurNet.ca - Fri, 02/05/2010 - 21:46

Today, a press release was produced regarding the CRTC public hearing to consider the improvement of rural Internet access. See the original on OpenMedia.ca's website here or check it out below!

OpenMedia.ca in Favour of CRTC Hearing to Improve Rural Internet Access

Hearing to address Canada’s digital divide

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date: February 5, 2010

read more

Categories: Media in The Media

OpenMedia.ca in Favour of CRTC Hearing to Improve Rural Internet Access

press release - Fri, 02/05/2010 - 21:41

Hearing to address Canada’s digital divide

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date: February 5, 2010

VANCOUVER (BC) – The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has called for a public hearing on October 25th, 2010, regarding the improvement of Internet access in rural areas. To this day, many of these areas are still using low-speed or dial-up Internet.

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Categories: Media in The Media

New South Australian Law Censors Online Anonymous Political Comment

Open Media Blog - Fri, 02/05/2010 - 20:10

A new south Australian law has been established. This law will prohibit bloggers and commenters from making political comments without leaving their name and number. If this law isn't obeyed, they will face up to $1,250 (AUS) worth of fines.

AdelaideNow, a site that allows forum discussion, is caught in the crossfire of this law. The website published an editorial article on Tuesday morning which stated:

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CBC picks up 'Men With Brooms' series by Etan Vlessing

Friends - Fri, 02/05/2010 - 14:30

The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. has picked up a sitcom from E1 Television based on the popular Canadian curling movie "Men With Brooms."

Satellite radio coming to BlackBerry by Susan Krashinsky

Friends - Fri, 02/05/2010 - 13:41

The U.S. satellite radio company Sirius XM Radio has announced the launch of a BlackBerry application.

US, EU Defend ACTA Secrecy, UK Demands It

Michael Geist - Fri, 02/05/2010 - 08:03
Faced with mounting criticism over ACTA secrecy, officials from both the U.S. and the EU are speaking out.  In a letter to the editor at the Financial Times, the USTR's Stanford McCoy rejects the transparency concerns, claiming:

"Far from keeping them secret, governments participating in these negotiations have sought public comments, released a summary of issues under discussion, and enhanced public engagement."

Meanwhile, an EU official told EurActiv.com that media reports have oversimplified ACTA and that information has been provided to the European Parliament "whenever possible."  The EU official declined to be named due to a non-disclosure agreement.


On the other hand, UK Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills David Lammy provided the House of Commons with his government's official position on ACTA secrecy:

It is current UK policy on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement to seek the agreement of our negotiating partners to publish the draft text. However, it is the practice in trade negotiations that working documents are not disclosed without the consent of all the negotiating parties. Not all parties currently agree to the release of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) draft text. My officials continue to press for greater transparency with our negotiating partners.

Not to be forgotten, Bridges Weekly reports on mounting concerns in the developing world over ACTA.  While an official from the Chamber of Commerce argues that it is not desirable to address ACTA issues at WIPO, a developing country trade diplomat acknowledges that the developing world will face pressure to adopt ACTA-like provisions and that the process sounds like "TRIPs-plus-plus-plus."
Categories: Media in The Media

Angus Launches ACTA Secrecy Facebook Group

Michael Geist - Fri, 02/05/2010 - 07:02
NDP MP Charlie Angus has launched a new Facebook group called ACTA: End the Secrecy.
Categories: Media in The Media

Hints Of Deep Discord in Canada-EU Talks

Michael Geist - Fri, 02/05/2010 - 07:01
Troy Media reports on possible discord in the Canada - European Union trade talks over the intellectual property chapter.
Categories: Media in The Media

Canadian Digital Music Sales Growth Beats The U.S. For the 4th Straight Year

Michael Geist - Thu, 02/04/2010 - 18:31
Nielsen Soundscan has just released the Canadian music sales figures for 2009.  Notwithstanding the regular claims that the Canadian digital music market cannot develop without copyright reform, the Canadian market grew faster than the U.S. market for the fourth consecutive year.  As the chart below demonstrates, digital music sales have grown faster in Canada than in the U.S. in every year since 2006:

Year
Canada
United States
2009
38%
8%
2008
58%
27%
2007
73%
45%
2006
122%
65%

While this does not suggest that the market is thriving - a down economy with more competition for the entertainment dollar it is a tough market - it does confirm yet again that attempts to link copyright reform to the development of a Canadian digital market are not borne out by the facts.  Indeed, Canada has consistently grown faster than the United States (from an admittedly lower starting point given that digital music stores arrived later in Canada). 


Moreover, as I pointed out last summer, the IFPI's global data further supports the conclusion that the Canadian digital music market is not the laggard that some would have the public believe.  As of last year, Canada's digital market stood 7th worldwide, while ranking 6th for all recorded music - in other words, about what you would expect.  Of the top 20 global markets for recorded music, the IFPI said that Canada ranked 5th for the percentage of digital sales. 

Indeed, digital music sales as a percentage of total sales in Canada is ahead of every major European country. The U.S. may lead Canada (though growing at a far slower rate), but the IFPI reported that Canada is ahead of France, Britain, Spain, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Austria, Sweden, Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Norway, Poland, Portugal, and Russia.  Canada also leads countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, and South Africa.  The global music market may be facing difficult times, but the industry's own data confirms that placing the blame on Canadian copyright laws is quite clearly misplaced.
Categories: Media in The Media

Media small caps? Just take a look by Paul Sullivan

Friends - Thu, 02/04/2010 - 14:31

Columnist says that those media companies have been beaten down, but those that have survived the drubbing have decent investment prospects.

Bell ups the ante in Canada's Internet speed war by Julie Fortier

Friends - Thu, 02/04/2010 - 13:44

Bell has announced plans to install new fibre optic cables to replace the old copper lines in several cities over the next few years.

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