Legal Commentary

Today is World’s Fair Use day

Posted on January 12, 2010
That’s ‘fair use’ as in copyright, not ‘world’s fair’ – although copyright does sometimes seem to have a carnival atmosphere around the various debates and tactics around copyright law and enforcement. Michael posted a good summary of the issue regarding Canadian law...

Science fiction today will soon be routine

Posted on January 11, 2010
For the London Free Press – January 11, 2010 Read this on Canoe The velocity of change will continue to increase over the next 10 years, expert predicts Bill Gates once said we overestimate the change that will occur in two years, and underestimate the change that will occur in the next 10...

Airport security – are body scanners the right solution?

Posted on January 08, 2010
Is the headlong rush to install body scanners in airports: (a) an effective way to stop dangerous weapons getting on aircraft? (b) a kneejerk reaction to the attempted underwear bombing? (c) A massive, expensive invasion of privacy with no real benefit? (d) More security theatre that makes it appear that something is being done, but accomplishes nothing? (e) Wasting time [...

CES prediction – buyer’s remourse over December tech purchases

Posted on January 06, 2010
That’s my Slaw post for today.   It reads as follows: The annual Consumer Electronics Show is about to start in Las Vegas.  Many companies anounce their latest and greatest products at the CES.  Indeed, there have already been several announcements over the last few days...

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Happy Holidays from Harrison Pensa

Posted on December 23, 2009

When the copyright enforcer breaches

Posted on December 22, 2009
Its amusing / ironic / puzzling whenever someone who aggressively tries to protects its own copyright, trade-marks, or other intellectual property finds itself on the opposite side.   In other words, they engage in the very behaviour that they find offensive in others...

Many ways available to reduce paper use

Posted on December 21, 2009
For the London Free Press – December 21, 2009 Read this on Canoe This Christmas, give a gift to the planet and use less paper. Lawyers may be one of the worst offenders when it comes to printing things instead of reading and saving them electronically...

Another reason to back up your laptop

Posted on December 16, 2009
That’s the title of my Slaw post for today.  It reads as follows: Or perhaps, as I mentioned in a recent article, don?t have anything important on it when crossing borders. And take only an old laptop that you can afford to lose. This incident has been mentioned in a few places...

What I don’t get about twitter

Posted on December 15, 2009
I don’t get why people feel the need to know everything immediately.   This has puzzled me for years.  Many years ago, TV stations bragged about breaking news on their station first.   When CNN came along, it was a big deal that we saw it on CNN first...

Apple takes bite out of Hackintosh

Posted on December 14, 2009
For the London Free Press – December 14, 2009 Read this on Canoe COMPUTERS: In a hardware-software legal war, the company reaches a partial, $2.7-million US settlement with knock-off computer maker Apple’s business model is to sell hardware with software on it...

Privacy – its about informed choices

Posted on December 10, 2009
3 completely different privacy articles taken together illustrate how privacy is really about informed choices. First, a Techdirt post by Mike Masnick about a musician from Saskatoon that sought out the Google street view car to get his photo taken to promote his band...

2010 – the year of the tablet / e-book?

Posted on December 09, 2009
That’s the title of my Slaw post for today.   It reads as follows: 2010 will see some interesting and useful developments in the tablet / e-book reader space.  The concept of a thin, light, portable device with a decent screen size (i.e. a letter sized piece of paper) and long battery life to read things on [...

Spaceship Two unveiled

Posted on December 08, 2009
Yesterday was the official reveal of Spaceship Two, the first commercial venture to take paying customers to space.   It will only give a few minutes of suborbital space time – but over 300 people have already put down deposits for the $200,000 flight...

Twitter proves effective ad tool

Posted on December 07, 2009
For the London Free Press – December 7, 2009 Read this on Canoe NETWORKING: Companies should be proactive in securing their Twitter handle Twitter has emerged as a powerful and inexpensive advertising alternative for many companies. Some businesses have found to their chagrin, however, that others have already taken their name for a Twitter or other social networking account...

Food for thought for in-house counsel

Posted on December 04, 2009
Corporations are putting increased scrutiny on the legal services they purchase to ensure they are being provided in an efficent and cost effective manner – particularly services provided by large law firms in major centers.  Many corporations are actively looking for alternative solutions to traditional legal services provided by mega-firms...

Laptops on border ’search’ list

Posted on November 30, 2009
For The London Free Press – November 30, 2009 Read this on Canoe TRAVEL: The practical reality is we have no control over these computer searches, so it’s wise to be prepared Last summer, directives were issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for searches of computers and other electronic devices at U...

Amabile Boys and Men’s Choirs Christmas concert – Dec 19

Posted on November 27, 2009
The Amabile Boys and Men’s Choirs Christmas concert is on Dec 19.   The flyer is below for anyone interested in attending.  These choirs are truly world class – having won national competitions, and performed internationally.  My son is in the Young Men’s Choir.

Canadian retailer version of Black Friday? #followfriday

Posted on November 26, 2009
Us Canadians have become more aware over the last few years of the American phenomenon known as Black Friday.  A result of the internet I guess.   To some extent we are puzzled by it.  The only thing we have to compare that to is Boxing Day sales – and we like to think that we are far [...

Trust us – we are the government – DNA database #fail

Posted on November 24, 2009
England has turned into one of the least privacy friendly governments.   It is a poster child for being overly invasive – with the usual unsupported claims that is is necessary to fight crime – and the position that governments and police forces can be trusted to be discrete and do the right thing...

Three-strikes proposal divides

Posted on November 23, 2009
For the London Free Press – November 23. 2009 Read this on Canoe INFRINGEMENT: It addresses concerns of creators and publishers of movies and music The “three-strikes law” is a controversial proposal to address download infringement concerns of creators and publishers of movies and music...

If Middlesex Centre can build a Rec Centre – why can’t London build a Performing Arts Centre?

Posted on November 20, 2009
The municipality of Middlesex Centre (which borders the west/north sides of London) will start construction in a few months for a new “Community Wellness and Recreation Centre”.  It will feature 2 NHL sized ice pads, a gym, walking track, fitness centre, library, and multipurpose rooms...

Interesting things this week

Posted on November 18, 2009
That’s the title of my Slaw post for today.  It reads as follows: Steve just posted about the Kindle coming to Canada ? certainly a noteworthy and overdue event. (I?m going to hold out for something that displays colour.) Some other noteworthy things from the last few days (at least for those of us in the tech/legal/privacy [...

Pervasive connectivity revolution

Posted on November 17, 2009
Advances in technology and reduction in costs are moving us towards a day when everything can be connected – including things like appliances, light switches, and even humans.  That connectivity will be for both reporting status and for control...

Online rules out of line, critics say

Posted on November 16, 2009
For the London Free Press – November 16, 2009 Read this on Canoe BLOGGING: Proposed U.S. guidelines would hold bloggers to ethical standards The U.S. Federal Trade Commission recently proposed new guidelines pertaining to transparency in blogging...

Rule of Law vs the Rule of Reason

Posted on September 30, 2009
That’s my Slaw post for today.   It reads as follows: I was reading my usual RSS feeds this morning, partly to see if I could find some inspiration for my Slaw post for today, and found the following post on Techdirt. I couldn?t agree more ? and since this is one of those ?like he said? [...

Class action against Great West Life begins

Posted on September 29, 2009
A London courtroom heard the start of opening arguments yesterday in a class action trial that is scheduled to last 10 weeks.  Colleagues of mine at Harrison Pensa are acting for the class – arguing that when GWL bought London Life in 1997, they improperly used policyholder money to finance the purchase...

Disclosure of personal health info limited

Posted on September 28, 2009
For the London Free Press – September 28, 2009 Read this on Canoe PRIVACY: The Personal Health Information Protection Act spells out three basic ways that such information can be released The term “Circle of Care” is often used to describe the ability of health-care professionals to share patient information among those treating that patient...

CBA guidelines on using electronic marketing

Posted on September 23, 2009
That’s the title of my Slaw post for today.   It reads as follows. Today?s CBA E-News contains a link to a report described as: The CBA?s Ethics and Professional Responsibility Committee presents a new report interpreting the CBA?s Code of Professional Conduct in the context of the new media...

Law Society CLE – Security for Lawyers in a Wired World

Posted on September 22, 2009
Any lawyers who read this might find this upcoming CLE program interesting/useful.  It is described as: In an increasingly paperless world, you no longer need to leave the office with a full briefcase. Are you sacrificing your clients’ confidentiality by your increased use of technology? Attend this program to learn the essentials of metadata, encryption, and [...

Internet is not a place to hide

Posted on September 21, 2009
For the London Free Press – September 21, 2009 Read this on Canoe ONLINE ACCOUNTABILITY: It does not shield against civil or criminal wrongdoing At its inception, the Internet was thought to be an unregulated medium. Online anonymity ensured that Net users could publish anything they desired without fear of repercussions...

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