Insights on International Copyright Issues
Pursuing the Unlikely Dream By Peter S. Grant Peter Grant Occasionally I am pleased to host a guest post on this blog, which is the case with today s essay by Peter S. Grant. It is timely given the current policy debate over the role of foreign platforms in contributing to the production of Canadian content. Continue reading "Can Canadian Film or Television Have a Global Hit?"
Image: Shutterstock (adapted) Last week I commented on the news that the Carney government intends to eliminate even the 5 percent base contribution of revenues required of US streaming services to fund Canadian production, rolling back a requirement imposed in 2024 by the CRTC as part of the first phase of implementing the Online Streaming Continue reading "US Streamers and Canadian Content: What…
Image: Shutterstock It was an unusual, almost clumsy way to disclose an important policy change (or, at the very least, a key policy refinement/clarification). The Carney government has revealed, via a previously undisclosed letter to the Federal Court, that it no longer intends to require foreign streaming services, i.e. Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, and Continue reading "How to Get the…
Image: Public domain When I scroll down the emoji list on my phone, after all the smileys and pulsating hearts, the camels and horses, tennis racquets and golf clubs, I come to a section displaying flags. Flags of all colours and descriptions, most of which look as if they are from a child’s colouring book. Continue reading "Is This Flag Protected by Copyright?"
Image: Shutterstock In early June Canada issued its national AI strategy paper, “AI for All”. As I noted in a blog post at the time, while the strategy covered many elements of AI in its 50 pages outlining policy objectives and planned actions, it managed to avoid using the word “copyright” even once. Australia has Continue reading "AI Training and Copyright: Australia Gets it Right—Now it’s…
Image: Author There is an ongoing struggle between the tech world of AI training and the cultural world of content creation. It has led to lots of litigation but also an increasing number of licensing agreements, the obvious market solution. Litigation has helped convince AI companies to share some of the wealth by pursuing licensing. Continue reading "Litigation vs. Licensing for AI Training"
Image: Public domain (Canada) In a blog post I wrote last year after a couple of delightful weeks in Mexico over the Christmas/New Year holiday, I commented on an article published by a US art publication. It had stated definitively that the works of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo had entered the public domain in the Continue reading "Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera and the Public Domain in Mexico: Who’s…
Image: Wikimedia (Public domain) New Zealand is proposing to introduce a number of optional updates to its Copyright Act when it enacts required changes to bring legislation into compliance with two treaties it has signed. This is good news for creators. Still to be addressed, however, is the thorny issue of AI training on copyrighted Continue reading "Copyright Developments in New Zealand: Going…
We read daily about new lawsuits brought by rightsholders against AI developers, strategy papers floated by governments seeking to solve the riddle of reconciling copyright and AI, and declarations issued by authors proclaiming the end of human creativity. The creative community seems to have coalesced around the principles of transparency, permission and remuneration but the Continue reading "The…
Image: Shutterstock The recent sale, or re-sale to be more exact, for $5.7 million of a 1948 painting by the late BC artist E.J. Hughes (“Coastal Boats Near Sidney, BC”), who spent much of his life in relative poverty, reminded me that the oft-promised but yet-to-be-delivered Artist’s Resale Right (ARR) in Canada is still in Continue reading "The Artists’ Resale Right in Canada: Many Promises but…
