No Time for Tinkering: On Intellectual Property and NAFTA

Ariel Katz
Thursday, August 30, 2018

Last year, I wrote the following essay, as part of a collection of essays, "NAFTA and the Knowledge Economy", published by the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI). The essay discusses what Canada’s approach to intellectual property in the context of the renegotiation of NAFTA should be. Since the issues are back at the table, I thought I'd post it again. You can read it on CIGI's website, download a pdf version, or simply scroll down.

No Time for Tinkering: How a "more progressive" NAFTA could break the vicious circle of global inequities in the ownership of knowledge

The postwar international trading order reflected the assumption that reducing various state-imposed restrictions on trade, and promoting free and competitive markets, would be mutually beneficial to trading nations and to the world as a whole.

Meet new faculty member Professor Chris Essert

Wednesday, August 15, 2018
Prof. Christopher Essert

By Sheldon Gordon

Eight years ago, when he began his academic career at Queen's Faculty of Law, Chris Essert was assigned to teach a course on property law.  He discovered that the connection between property rights and equality under the law raised so many interesting questions that it was an area he should address in his research, too. 

Prof. Lisa Austin writes "We must not treat data like a natural resource" in Globe and Mail

Monday, July 9, 2018

In a commentary in the Globe and Mail, Prof. Lisa Austin argues that "data is not a natural resource but a new informational dimension to individual and community life" ("We must not treat data like a natural resource," July 9, 2018).

Read the full commentary on the Globe and Mail website, or below.

We must not treat data like a natural resource

By Lisa Austin

July 9, 2018

Prof. Ariel Katz writes "Data governance in a digital age: When information wants to be unfree"

Thursday, May 31, 2018

In a commentary in the Financial Post, Prof. Ariel Katz suggests that the Law of the Sea offers a useful framework for thinking about data governance. He concludes "Information can be free, shared and open, owned, closed and expensive; it can be empowering and dangerous. We must determine what we want it to be." ("Data governance in a digital age: When information wants to be unfree," May 19, 2018).

Prof. Lisa Austin writes "Protecting the public interest when ‘Your user agreement sucks'"

Tuesday, April 17, 2018

In a commentary in the Toronto Star, Prof. Lisa Austin assesses some key issues that Canadians concerned about the state of our own privacy laws should focus on in the wake of the U.S. Senate hearings on Facebook ("Protecting the public interest when ‘Your user agreement sucks’," April 17, 2018).

Read the full commentary on the Toronto Star website, or below.

Access Copyright v. York University: An Anatomy of a Predictable But Avoidable Loss

Ariel Katz
Thursday, July 27, 2017

Originally posted on Prof. Katz's blog, here.

Two weeks ago, Justice Phelan of the Federal Court handed Access Copyright a huge victory in its lawsuit against York University.[1] I have followed the case closely and read the parties’ submissions and I have been constantly concerned that York risked snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Unfortunately, this is what happened. The good news is that many of the Court’s fundamental findings rest on very loose foundations, that I am confident that York’s loss is only temporary, and that if York appeals the decision and handles the appeal appropriately, most, if not all, of the Court’s major findings will be reversed. One way or another, and possibly with interveners assisting the court, one hopes that all essential arguments will be made on appeal. Therefore, this post provides an anatomy of York’s predictable yet totally avoidable loss.

SJD student Matthew Marinett writes "Canada must remove copyright-related impediments to innovation"

Friday, July 14, 2017

In a commentary in Policy Options magazine, SJD student Matthew Marinett analyzes some of the key issues Canada faces in reviewing its Copyright Act in the face of recent technological developments ("If Canada is to become an major centre of high-tech business and AI development, it must remove the copyright-related impediments to innovation," July 5, 2017).

Read the full commentary on the Policy Options website, or below.

Welcome to new faculty, Professors Adriana Robertson and Margaret Jane Radin

Thursday, July 6, 2017
professor adriana robertson

The Faculty of Law welcomes two new scholars to its ranks: Professor Adriana Robertson and Professor Margaret Jane Radin.

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