Law Times

PAGE 16 u BIZARRE BRIEFS By Viola James FILE-SHARING GROUP GETS RELIGIOUS STATUS STOCKHOLM — If there can be religions about pot smoking, people can certainly do the same thing with copyright violations. As Reuters reported, Sweden has dealt a sym- bolic blow to the global fight against digital music and film piracy by recognizing a group that pro- motes file sharing across the Internet as a religion. One of the most wired nations in the world, Sweden has long been a battleground between those who support file sharing and the music and film industry. The Nordic state gave birth to the world's largest file-sharing web site, The Pirate Bay. Registering the Church of Kopimism is a way to avoid "persecution," said the web site of the group, which received official recognition from the Swedish state last month. Kopimism's name is derived from the words "copy me" and as its web site makes clear it strongly supports all forms of downloading and uploading files and sees copyright laws as violat- ing freedom of information, Reuters reported. "We believe that information is holy," said Isak Gerson, who calls himself the "spiritual leader" of a church whose key symbols are "Ctrl-C" and "Ctrl-V," the keyboard shortcuts for copy and paste. CRACKDOWN ON BARBIES TEHRAN — With a struggling economy and an ongoing nuclear dispute, it's clear that Iranian authorities have big issues to deal with. So it's not surprising that the country's morality police are cracking down on the sale of Barbie dolls to protect the public from what they see as pernicious western culture eroding Islamic values. As the West imposes the toughest ever sanc- tions on Iran and tensions rise over its nuclear program, inside the country the Barbie ban is part of what the government calls a "soft war" against decadent cultural influences, Reuters reported. "About three weeks ago, they (the morality police) came to our shop, asking us to remove all the Barbies," said a shopkeeper in a toy store in northern Tehran. Iran's religious rulers first declared Barbie, made by U.S. company Mattel Inc., un-Islamic in 1996, citing its "destructive cultural and social consequences." Despite the ban, the doll has until recently been openly on sale in Tehran shops, according to Reuters. The new order, issued around three weeks ago, forced shopkeepers to hide the leggy, busty blond behind other toys as a way of meeting popular demand for the dolls while avoiding closure by the police. A range of officially approved dolls launched in 2002 to counter demand for Barbie hasn't proven successful, merchants told Reuters. The dolls named Sara, a female, and Dara, a male, arrived in shops wearing a variety of tra- ditional dress, with Sara fully respecting the rule that all women in Iran must obey in public of cov- ering their hair and wearing loose-fitting clothes. "My daughter prefers Barbies. She says Sara and Dara are ugly and fat," said Farnaz, a 38-year-old mother. But in another swipe at the West, Iranians will soon be able to buy toy versions of the U.S. spy drone that it captured in December, Iranian media reported. Models of the bat-wing RQ-170 Sentinel will be available in a variety of colours. AN ODD NAME FOR THE DOCKET MADISON, Wis. — This man's name is a mouthful for the court clerk to call out. According to Reuters, Beezow Doo-Doo Zopittybop-Bop-Bop, 30, was facing charges of possession of marijuana and a knife, as well as a probation violation following the Wisconsin man's arrest in a park. Zopittybop-Bop-Bop — formerly Jeffrey Drew Wilschke before a state court approved his name change request in November — was arrested after police received complaints from neighbours. Zopittybop-Bop-Bop was already on proba- tion for a prior weapons possession conviction, Reuters reported. LT Law society January 23, 2012 • Law Times u The INSIDE STORY DISBARRED LAWYER'S APPEAL DISMISSED The Law Society of Upper Canada has dismissed an appeal by disbarred lawyer Dunstan Dan Senjule af- ter it found medical evidence used to support his adjourn- ment request was "piece- meal" and "vague." Senjule had appealed an earlier ruling based on the hearing panel's refusal to grant an adjournment request without conditions that would prevent him from continuing his practice. From April 2009 to January 2012, Senjule asked for adjournments of several hearings. Each time, he said he was ill. But in its decision, the appeal panel found the medical evidence Senjule provided to prove he was suffering from ischemic heart disease was faulty. "The 'evidence' provided by the appellant was hearsay, piecemeal, vague, conclusory, and arguably lacking in candour," wrote panel chairwoman Linda Rothstein. "The hearing panel was entitled to conclude that it was inadequate to support an adjournment of the hearing without conditions." A law society disciplinary panel had previously found Senjule to be a knowing participant in 23 fraudulent transactions over 2 1/2 years beginning shortly aſter his call to the bar in April 2002. The fraudulent activities included 23 mortgages on 15 different properties worth a com- bined total of $5.9 million, the law society found. MERGER CREATES REGIONAL FIRM Hacker Gignac Rice LLP and Graham Partners LLP officially merged to form HGR Graham Partners LLP this month. The deal means the two Simcoe County law firms have created one central Ontario regional firm with 28 lawyers and more than 80 staff. "We're very excited by the op- portunity we have to serve the people of Orillia, Midland, and Penetanguishene," said Ron Crane, managing partner HGR Graham Partners LLP. of GALE CUP GETS NEW NAME Lenczner Slaght Royce Smith Griffin LLP and the Canadian Bar Association have officially partnered to sponsor the Gale Cup Moot. The five-year deal means the mooting competition will be re- named the Lenczner Slaght-CBA Gale Cup Moot. "The Gale Cup Moot is one of Canada's premiere advocacy events which we are delighted to sup- port," said Peter Griffin, Lenczner Slaght's managing partner. The competition will take place at Osgoode Hall on Feb. 24-25. "The minister asked us to ramp it up a bit." B.C. LAWYER FINED $1,500 FOR OUTBURST A B.C. lawyer who launched a ver- bal attack on an Ontario counter- part for sending demand letters to the parents of alleged shopliſters has been fined $1,500 for his out- burst by the Law Society of Brit- ish Columbia. Gerry Laarakker, a sole practitioner in Vernon, B.C., went on the offensive aſter a cli- ent came to him with a $500 de- mand letter from Toronto lawyer Patrick Martin, who was writ- ing on behalf of the Hudson's Bay Co. The letter warned the woman, whose daughter was involved in an alleged shopliſting incident, that she could be on the hook for an even higher claim for damages if she didn't pay the settlement amount. In a fax rebuffing the settle- ment offer, Laarakker accused Martin of being involved in a "scam." "Save the postage in the future and become a real lawyer in- stead!" he wrote. "You must have harboured dreams of being a good lawyer at one point. Surely bullying people into paying some small amount of money is not what you went into law for. But then again, someone has to be at the bottom of the class." Following a complaint from Martin, a B.C. law society panel found Laarakker guilty of mis- conduct last year. Now, in a Jan. 10 decision, the panel ordered him to pay a $1,500 fine. Laarakker must also pay the law society $3,000 in costs for the two-day hearing. LT The title insurer that puts you front row, centre Putting the legal community front and centre has made us the #1 choice with Canadian lawyers for over a decade. Stewart Title does not support programs that reduce or eliminate the lawyer's role in real estate transactions. For more information call (888) 667-5151 or visit www.stewart.ca. Untitled-2 1 www.lawtimesnews.com 7/19/11 12:31:45 PM

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