The Prime Minister's Office announced this morning that the Honourable Mr. Justice Marshall E. Rothstein, currently a member of the Federal Court of Appeal, is the candidate to be interviewed as nominee for new member of the Supreme Court of Canada.
News Release – PMO – February 23, 2006
For an excellent (and I do mean excellent) summary of Justice Rothstein's career to date, see this page on the Office of the Commissioner of Judicial Affairs website:
It includes curriculum vitae, extensive lists and links to his many written decisions, examples of his written decisions at the Federal Court of Appeal, and lists of the articles and papers he has written and presented.
Justice Rothstein was selected by new Prime Minister Stephen Harper from a short list of three candidates provided by the former justice minister Irwin Cotler. The list of three candidates was leaked to the media on Tuesday. The other two candidates were identified as Peter MacKinnon, University of Saskatchewan president and former dean of law and Constance Hunt, a judge on the Alberta Court of Appeal.
even tho some of his significant IP decisions have gone against my own views, i think that having another SCC justice who is familiar with IP issues can only be a benefit going forward.
however, legal researchers and librarians should keep in mind what Justice Rothstein wrote in the CCH decision 2002 FCA 187 (FCA):
"[265] In this case, the Law Society does more than merely provide photocopiers to its patrons. It also provides a large collection of the Publishers' works and these two elements are offered by the Law Society in a single environment. From the nature of the requests received by the custom photocopy operation, it is evident that patrons access the Publishers' materials. I infer that patrons of the free-standing photocopiers have similar interests and therefore that they will also access the Publishers' materials. Although I recognize that the Great Library contains non-copyrighted work, e.g. statutes, it is unrealistic to think that only this type of material is reproduced on the photocopiers. This is a case in which the action of placing photocopiers in an environment full of copyrighted works is bound to result in infringing reproduction of the Publishers' materials. In such a situation it is my view that the Law Society's indifference to this inevitable outcome amounts to authorization of the infringing reproduction engaged in by its patrons."