Law Times

PAGE 10 Copyright, lawful access among new legislation FOCUS Busy year for IT laws BY JUDY VAN RHIJN For Law Times Amendments are coming thick and fast as the federal government gets down to the fine details of finalizing its information technol- ogy-related legislation. Although much of the legislative process started several years ago, a raſt of bills seems to be reaching the fin- ish line at the same time. tion act is finally reaching its fi- nal form in the guise of bill C-11. While many advocates would like to see more changes to it, it ap- pears unlikely that will happen. The copyright moderniza- TRACKING DOWN ANSWERS TO YOUR TAX QUESTIONS HAS NEVER BEEN EASIER NEW EDITION THE LAWYER'S GUIDE TO INCOME TAX AND GST/HST 2012 DAVID M. SHERMAN, B.A., LL.B, LL.M. Author David M. Sherman provides all the core information a non-tax lawyer needs to effectively handle the tax aspects of clients' affairs. The book includes a detailed discussion of the essentials of the Canadian personal and corporate tax systems, GST and HST systems, and the tax objection and appeal process. It also answers the key tax questions on lawyers' fees: When is GST or HST charged? When are the fees deductible to the client? ORDER # 983707 $98 Softcover 490 pages May 2012 978-0-7798-3707-6 Annual volumes available on standing order subscription Shipping and handling are extra. Price subject to change without notice and subject to applicable taxes. "Sherman has the gift of distilling a maze of impenetrable tax laws into a logical, readable format. Indispensable tool for understanding GST and tax law." Max Berger, Barrister & Solicitor • Concise Commentary Clear, straightforward commentary by David M. Sherman, one of Canada's most prolific and respected tax authors COMPREHENSIVE CONTENT AND TIME-SAVING FEATURES • Appendices and Tables Detailed tax tables providing current tax rate information, reference to other key sources, a Table of Cases, and a Table of Statutory References • Detailed Topical Index A time-saving feature that provides quick access to essential information The legislation has just undergone clause-by-clause alterations in the House of Commons and the Sen- ate doesn't look likely to make any noticeable changes. David Fewer, director of the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic in Ottawa, says the recent amendments were mostly technical and notes he' fairly pleased with the balance reached. s changed. There are good things for rights holders, and the urgent needs of consumers have been addressed. The balance is where it was, which is pretty good apart from the anti-circumvention pro- visions, which are not balanced by any stretch of the imagination." In fact, there' "Nothing substantive deal of criticism of the proposed digital locks that allow copy- right holders to encrypt files to stop unwanted copying or limit the amount of times someone can move a file. Many advocacy groups see them as overriding consumer rights ushered in by other parts of the bill. Fewer believes the government s still a great • Sidenote Sources Information sources are referenced in side notes, listing statutory references, government publications and case law • Ease of access Separate chapters on Employment Law, Family Law, Intellectual Property and Immigration, Litigation, Real Estate, Small Business, Wills and Estates, make it easy to find information relating to your issue AVAILABLE RISK-FREE FOR 30 DAYS Order online at www.carswell.com Call Toll-Free: 1-800-387-5164 In Toronto: 416-609-3800 was mostly concerned with the views of Canadians when it came to other copyright issues but sug- gests those of the United States, a strong player in the global market for the distribution of intellectual property rights, prevailed on the anti-circumvention provisions. "The Americans are going to April 23, 2012 • lAw Times 'The anti-circumvention laws have done nothing to affect piracy in the U.S., so why on earth would it have an effect in Canada?' says David Fewer. anything to contain piracy. "The anti-circumvention laws have done nothing to af- fect piracy in the U.S., so why on earth would it have an effect in Canada? The real problem is that it will make it more difficult for those trying to do things lawful- ly. There are expression concerns and liberty concerns." Fewer wonders if there' ulatory approach that can fix the problem or whether the courts will address the excesses of the anti-circumvention laws. "That' s a reg- be very pleased, given that Cana- da' s regime will be more stringent than the U.S.," says Fewer, who's nevertheless skeptical that the trade position as posited by the United States actually exists. He also doesn't think the bill will do A DAILY BLOGOF CANADIAN LEGAL NEWS [ WWW.CANADIANLAWYERMAG.COM/LEGALFEEDS ] what has happened down south to ease the burden of U.S. laws. It' s ment may decide that its best in- terests lie elsewhere and revisit it in the future. approaching Royal assent is bill C-12, an act to amend the Per- sonal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act. John Lawford, counsel at the Public In- terest Advocacy Centre in Otta- wa, describes the bill as "garbage. "It's meant to be instituting a " data-breach notification system so if you lose data, you've got to tell people, normally support this but not the way they've written it. It' so you don't have to tell." " he says. "We would s written the bill for giving companies and other organizations that suffer a data breach the discretion to de- cide if it would cause a "high risk of significant harm" to Canadi- ans, a standard it says is so high as to be a blank cheque. In its report on the issue, it concludes that "the proposed requirements in bill C-12 grant excessive dis- cretion to organizations that have had a data breach, allowing them unilaterally to characterize the breach as non-harmful to con- sumers. In so doing, organiza- tions gain the benefit of a largely unreviewable decision in the face of a manifest and undeniable conflict of interest." The Public Interest Advocacy His organization has criticized LegalFeeds-1/3-LT-Apr23-12.indd 1 POWERED BY CANADIAN LAWYER & LAW TIMES www.lawtimesnews.com Centre has also noted that the proposal has no sanctions for companies that refuse to report to the Office of the Privacy Com- missioner of Canada or inform See Bill, page 11 12-04-16 11:40 AM Another piece of legislation " s also possible that the govern- MA JOR COURT RULINGS EVENTS

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