The Two Weeks that Changed Canadian Copyright… And What Comes Next

The Centre for Intellectual Property Policy welcomes Professor Michael Geist, holder of the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-Commerce Law at the University of Ottawa.

Abstract

Copyright cases typically only reach the Supreme Court of Canada once every few years, ensuring that each case is carefully parsed and analyzed. On July 12, 2012, the Court issued rulings on five copyright cases in a single day, an unprecedented tally that shook the very foundations of copyright law in Canada. In fact, with the decisions coming just weeks after the Canadian government passed long-awaited copyright reform legislation, Canadian copyright law experienced a seismic shift that will take years to sort out.

This talk will examine the decade-long process of copyright reform and litigation that led to the two weeks that changed copyright for the foreseeable future.

About the speaker

Michael Geist is a law professor at the University of Ottawa where he holds the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law. He has obtained a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree from Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, Master of Laws (LL.M.) degrees from Cambridge University in the UK and Columbia Law School in New York, and a Doctorate in Law (J.S.D.) from Columbia Law School. 

Prof. Geist is an internationally syndicated columnist on technology law issues with his regular column appearing in the Toronto Star and the Ottawa Citizen.  He is the editor of From "Radical Extremism" to "Balanced Copyright": Canadian Copyright and the Digital Agenda (2010) and In the Public Interest:  The Future of Canadian Copyright Law (2005), both published by Irwin Law, the editor of several monthly technology law publications. He blogs on Internet and intellectual property law issues at www.michaelgeist.ca and can also be followed on twitter at @mgeist‎.

About the conference

The event is accredited for 1.5 hours of continuing legal education (CLE) by the Quebec Bar (activity no. 10074724).

The talk is free and open to the public, but lawyers who wish to receive their CLE credits are asked sign up at the entrance and pay a $40 fee. Payment is cash or by cheque. We regret that we cannot accept credit cards.

Kindly RSVP regarding the conference: david.groves [at] mail.mcgill.ca