Hugh Stephens Blog

FEBRUARY 26, 2024

Image: Shutterstock For those of you who may have missed it, this is “Fair Use and Fair Dealing” week, sponsored once again this year by the Association of Research Libraries in the US and the Canadian Association of Research Libraries in Canada.

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Hugh Stephens Blog

FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Screen Australia Drama Report At a time when streaming services (also referred to as subscription video on demand, or SVOD) are growing internationally at a frenzied pace, various countries are pondering how to deal with this phenomenon, particularly when it comes to local production.

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Hugh Stephens Blog

FEBRUARY 18, 2024

By Leoboudv-Own Work, CC BY-SA 3.0 [link] The issue of reconciliation with Indigenous peoples will remain a front-burner issue in Canada in 2024 so I think it appropriate to post a good news story on this topic early in the year.

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FEBRUARY 6, 2024

Image: Shutterstock Canadian visual artists, who have been hoping for the establishment of an Artists Resale Right (ARR) as part of a successful conclusion to the Canada-UK Free Trade Agreement negotiations, may become collateral damage if the talks breakdown completely. As I wrote in a blog post a year or so ago (“Will the “Artists’ … Continue reading "Britain Walks Away from Trade Agreement with Canada: Will Artists be Collateral Damage?

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Hugh Stephens Blog

JANUARY 31, 2024

Photo: Author A couple of recent cases in the US involving (mis)appropriation of copyrighted photographs indicate the tide may be changing with respect to the interpretation of what constitutes fair use, moving from a very liberal interpretation of “transformation” that has been used in recent years to justify unauthorized reproduction of copyrighted works by making … Continue reading "More Balanced Interpretation of US “Transformation” Fair Use Test gives Rightsholders Better Levera

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Hugh Stephens Blog

JANUARY 25, 2024

Photo by author: Revelstoke Railway Museum A lot of discussion recently has revolved around AI technology and its impact on artistic, musical, and literary creators. This is an evolving and important issue. However, for this week’s blog, I am going to go back to an earlier technology, photography, and look at its connection to creativity … Continue reading "We all Remember the Iconic Photo of the Last Spike, but Who was the Photographer?

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Music Blogging Technology 130

Hugh Stephens Blog

JANUARY 15, 2024

Image: [link] The extended period set by the Canadian Government (through Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, ISED) for response to its consultation paper on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Copyright closed on January 15.

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Hugh Stephens Blog

JANUARY 7, 2024

Image: Shutterstock There has been lots of ink spilled over the issue of Artificial Intelligence (AI) developers free riding on the backs of creators by copying and ingesting their content without permission to produce AI “created” content, output that sometimes competes directly in the market with the original work.

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Hugh Stephens Blog

JANUARY 3, 2024

Image:www.shutterstock.com There is no better way to start out the New Year, 2024, with a commentary on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and copyright. It was the big emerging issue in 2023 and is going to be even bigger in 2024.

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Hugh Stephens Blog

DECEMBER 26, 2023

Used with permission Around this time of year, I typically write a blog post looking back at the big content issues over the past year and peek forward at the coming 12 months, in Canada, the US and elsewhere.

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Blogging 159

Hugh Stephens Blog

DECEMBER 18, 2023

Image: [link] I am sure you are all familiar with the books by the British writer A.A. Milne about Winnie the Pooh-bear and his friends, Eyeore, Piglet, Kanga, Roo, Rabbit, Owl, Tigger, and their adventures with Christopher Robin, who was Milne’s son.

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Copyright 212

Hugh Stephens Blog

DECEMBER 11, 2023

Photo: Author The CBC—which, by the way, has just announced it will be cutting 10% of its workforce owing to reductions in the funding it receives from Parliament, cuts that unfortunately will probably curb its investigative programming—has “revealed” that works by a number of prominent Canadian authors such as Margaret Atwood, Alice Munro, Robertson Davies, … Continue reading "CBC Investigation Documents the Challenge for Writers: Works by Prominent Canadian Authors are Included in AI Tr

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DECEMBER 4, 2023

[link] The news that Google and the Government of Canada managed to strike a deal prior to the coming into force later this month of Bill C-18, the Online News Act, was not really a surprise, at least not to me. Both sides had every incentive to find enough common ground to reach an agreement. … Continue reading "Google, News and Canada: When is Half a Glass Better Than a Broken Glass?

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Government 159

Hugh Stephens Blog

NOVEMBER 30, 2023

Used with permission November 30 is the “day of action” for Canadian writers and publishers.

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Copying Government Publishing 148

Hugh Stephens Blog

NOVEMBER 23, 2023

Image by Greg Altmann/Pixabay This blog post appeared first in Open Canada, the journal of the Canadian International Council, on November 20, 2023.

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Journalism Blogging Copyright 159

Hugh Stephens Blog

NOVEMBER 15, 2023

Image: Shutterstock This has been a busy couple of weeks for national and international declarations on Artificial Intelligence (AI). First the G7 issued its International Code of Conduct for Advanced AI Systems on October 30.

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Hugh Stephens Blog

NOVEMBER 6, 2023

Image: Shutterstock All my life I have tried to behave well around librarians lest I be given a steely stare and be chided by the person on duty. I have tiptoed, suppressed coughs, and whispered in hushed tones. And generally, I have succeeded in avoiding reprimand. Until now. Lorisia McLeod, Chair of the Canadian Federation … Continue reading "Chided by the Canadian Federation of Library Associations for Defending Authors: What an Honour!

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NOVEMBER 1, 2023

Photo: Author (Poppy paid for!) I was at a store a couple of days ago and as is common at this time of year, there was the tray of Remembrance Day poppies on offer, with the proceeds going to the Royal Canadian Legion. I slipped in my $5 donation (is that enough in these days … Continue reading "Remembrance Day Poppies: Who Can Produce and Sell Them, including Designs Incorporating Them?

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Designs Design 241

Hugh Stephens Blog

OCTOBER 25, 2023

Credit: Pixabay.com This is the question that Peter Grant chose to highlight when reviewing my book, In Defence of Copyright (see below). It is a question rooted in both our history and current practices. Sometimes when I look at the efforts of creators and rights-holders in Canada to protect, manage and exploit their works, I … Continue reading "Are Canadians Born Pirates?

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Hugh Stephens Blog

OCTOBER 15, 2023

Warning: this blog post has a long opening sentence, so take a deep breath.

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Hugh Stephens Blog

OCTOBER 7, 2023

Image: Shutterstock I had the opportunity to visit Taiwan in August, where I once (in the last century) served as Director of the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei, aka the Canadian Representative to Taiwan. (The word “Ambassador” cannot and shall not be used for obvious diplomatic reasons).

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Copyright 296

Hugh Stephens Blog

SEPTEMBER 29, 2023

Registration of AI-Generated Works in the United States and Canada: A Comparison Credit: Shutterstock Human Creation The question of whether works that are generated in whole or part by Artificial Intelligence (AI) should enjoy copyright protection is a hot topic at the moment.

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Hugh Stephens Blog

SEPTEMBER 24, 2023

The all-party Culture, Media and Sport Committee of the British House of Commons has just (August 30) issued a welcome report condemning plans announced by Britain’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO) in June of 2022 to create a limitless copyright exemption to enable tech companies to develop artificial intelligence (AI) applications without having to obtain permission … Continue reading "UK Parliamentary Committee Shoots Down Copyright Exemption for AI Developers–But is it Really D

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Hugh Stephens Blog

SEPTEMBER 19, 2023

On August 4, 2023, India’s Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2023, received Presidential assent and became the law of the land. Enactment marked the culmination of a decades-long process to update the country’s anti-piracy laws by cracking down on camcording in theatres and imposing significant penalties for distribution of illegally recorded films.

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Hugh Stephens Blog

SEPTEMBER 11, 2023

(Since the majority of my readership is outside Canada, I have gone into somewhat more background detail in this post than is probably necessary for Canadian readers, who may wish to skip the parts covering some well-rehearsed details of the legislation). As Canada’s disastrous wildfires continued their destructive path, with 2/3 of the population of … Continue reading "Canada’s Online News Act: Will New Regulations Clarifying Revenue Expectations from Dominant Platforms Bring an End to Th

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AUGUST 22, 2023

On August 3, almost 30 organizations,[i] representing 50,000 Canadian writers, visual artists and publishers released an open letter to newly appointed Heritage Minister Pascale St. Onge urging her to tackle “meaningful copyright reform”. That is the code-word for the need to end the current free-riding by the education sector–elementary, secondary and post-secondary–in Canada (outside Québec) … Continue reading "When will the Trudeau Government act on Promised Copyright Reform

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Hugh Stephens Blog

AUGUST 18, 2023

The platform for exchange of ideas and expression provided by the internet is, as I think everyone today now knows, a two-edged sword. It can empower thinkers and promote freedom, but it can also provide a platform for anonymous spewers of hatred and misinformation in all its forms. The question of who is responsible for … Continue reading "Online Safety and Free Expression—What Happens When “State Actors” Abuse the Digital Commons?

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AUGUST 10, 2023

Like many people, my daughter is interested in acquiring a hybrid vehicle, to save on gas and to help save the planet. Among the models she has been looking at is the Toyota Prius, so when I saw a review of the 2023 Prius in the Driving section of my local paper, the Victoria Times-Colonist, … Continue reading "Google Blocked My News Search—So I Used Bing and Got the Information I Needed, Instantly!

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AUGUST 2, 2023

I am pleased to announce that my book, “In Defence of Copyright”, published by Cormorant Books in Toronto, is now available to pre-order through local bookstores, Indigo (stores and online) in Canada, and online through Amazon, and will be in stores as of August 19.

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Copyright Publishing 246

Hugh Stephens Blog

JULY 28, 2023

I will confess to having kept a diary for many years. What started out as a way to keep track of holidays and so on became a persistent habit that I have been unable to break to this day.

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Copyright 246

Hugh Stephens Blog

JULY 17, 2023

When does “compromising” to find a solution that works for both parties become synonymous with “caving” (in)? Only when you take a perverse delight (one might even call it schadenfreude) in gloating, “I told you so”, when the Canadian government’s policy initiative (C-18, the Online News Act) runs into opposition from the giant internet platforms … Continue reading "Bill C-18 (The Online News Act): Does Flexibility and Dialogue Represent “Compromising” or “Caving”?

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JULY 11, 2023

It seems that every day a new report emerges regarding concerns with artificial intelligence (AI) and how it will likely impact our lives. There have been dire suggestions that unless something is done, one day AI will take over, resulting in the end of humanity. There have equally been suggestions that, as with other technological … Continue reading "International Regulation of AI Development and Application: Is it Feasible?

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Hugh Stephens Blog

JUNE 29, 2023

When an “irresistible force” meets an “immovable object”, the result is a classic paradox. That is, unless one of the two—or both—give way. If we assume the irresistible force is the Government of Canada in the form of Bill C-18, the Online News Act, and two giant internet platforms (Meta and Google) are the immovable … Continue reading "When the Irresistible Force of the Canadian Government Meets the Immovable Object of Meta and Google: What Happens Next for the Online News Act?

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Hugh Stephens Blog

JUNE 20, 2023

Whether the decision against Internet Archive in the U.S. will have a chilling effect on controlled digital lending practices in Canada remains to be seen. Earlier this year, a U.S. district court ruled that San Francisco–based non-profit Internet Archive (IA) infringed the copyright of four international publishing houses when it loaned unlicensed digital copies of … Continue reading "Implications of the U.S.

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Hugh Stephens Blog

JUNE 11, 2023

Roughly a month after the CRTC charged out the gate by launching public consultations on the regulations it will issue to implement Bill C-11, the Online Streaming Act, (Implementing Canada’s Online Streaming Act: The CRTC is Fast Out of the Gate), the government has finally issued the promised Policy Directive that is to guide these … Continue reading "Implementing the Online Streaming Act: Government Policy Directive to CRTC is Missing Key Elements"

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Government 189

Hugh Stephens Blog

MAY 31, 2023

As the Writers’ Guild of America (WGA) strike grinds on with no end in sight, the impact is being felt not just in the US where picketing has halted some productions. Given the global production of US studios, the strike has echoes in the UK, Canada, Australia and elsewhere.

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MAY 18, 2023

Just days after Canada’s controversial Online Streaming Act (aka Bill C-11) finally cleared Parliament and was proclaimed law, the CRTC (Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunication Commission), the regulatory body empowered to implement the widespread changes to the Broadcasting Act encompassed by C-11, seized the initiative.

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