Episode 206: James Plotkin and David Fewer on Canadas Landmark Copyright Ruling on Fair Dealing and Digital Locks

Published: June 17, 2024, 10 a.m.

The question of copyright and digital locks \u2013 technically referred to as anti-circumvention legislation \u2013 dates back more than 25 years with creation of the World Intellectual Property Organization\u2019s Internet Treaties and later in Canada with the enactment of the Copyright Modernization Act. The full scope and application of those digital lock rules has been the subject of considerable debate, particularly over how fair dealing fits into the equation. The Federal Court of Canada recently issued a landmark decision on the issue which concludes that digital locks should not trump fair dealing. CIPPIC, the University of Ottawa\u2019s public interest technology law clinic, raised the key arguments on the issue in an intervention in the case led by James Plotkin, a partner with the law firm Gowlings, and David Fewer, CIPPIC\u2019s Director and General Counsel. They join the Law Bytes podcast to talk about the ruling and to clear up some of the misinformation that has been circulating since its release.