Bill C-11, An Act to Amend the Copyright Act, received second reading in the House of Commons on 18 October 2011. Discussions focussed on balance, openness to listening to interest groups, and specific provisions and scenarios covered and not covered by the bill. If you want a quick catch-up on copyright reform in Canada, take a look at Hansard. . . . [more]

Given the increasing level of globalization in the world today there continues to be considerable interest in trade with emerging markets like China.

Dan Harris of the China Law Blog provides a recommended list of English reading on commercial law in China:

1. The Legal System of the People’s Republic of China in a Nutshell

2.  Chinese Commercial Law: A Practical Guide.

3. China Law Deskbook, A Legal Guide for Foreign-invested Enterprises.

4. Understanding Labor and Employment Law in China

5. Patent Litigation in China

5. Environmental Law in China: Mitigating Risk And Ensuring Compliance

6. Anti-Monopoly Law . . . [more]

Here in la belle province, the announced appointment of an apparently unlingual Supreme Court justice has met with some consternation and criticism. The Barreau de Québec has officially (by letter – linked here) asked the Prime Minister to reconsider his choice.

The Director of the Québec Bar, Mtre Claude Provencher, made the following comments to a French-language blog (my rough translation):

“Bilingualism must be a required competence. It’s a question of equality before justice for all Canadians, regardless of their mother tongue.”

“We request that the government and the parliamentary committed charged with examining these recommendations not name

The Canadian Association of Law Libraries has a brand new website.

There are some really great features of the new site including job postings, easy links to committee publications including items like the Vendor Liaison Committee’s Cost Containment Strategies and the Code of Good Practices for Loose-leaf Publication the Knowledge Management Special Interest Group’s suggested resources and the Courthouse &Law Society Library SIG’s Standards document.

The best parts of the new CALL/ACBD site are reserved for members, and membership is open to those who support the objectives of the association.

The Association is soliciting feedback on . . . [more]

Google provides a dashboard where you may view and edit the information it collects about you, and set policies for its collection of info in future. Google also describes data it collects that is not editable here.

It’s an interesting interface as much for what it implies as for what it states. Since multiple services, such as Gmail and Picasa, collect personal information independently, any inaccuracies in the various profiles could potentially be identified and corrected. For instance, my gmail profile lists Afghanistan as my location, but I’ll bet that, between Picasa, my calendar info, and various other indicators, . . . [more]

I had written about the Just A Click Away project in January 2011. Just A Click Away is a Canada-wide initiative on public legal education and information (PLEI).

It organized a successful conference in Vancouver last February on how to use Internet and social media technologies to better educate the general public about the law.

Just A Click Away is continuing its efforts to bring the law closer to every Canadian and has just announced that it has received funding for Phase 2 of its work with a focus on “Supporting a Culture of Sharing”.

Phase 2 involves 4 organizations: . . . [more]

Not that Research in Motion needs more bad news and Apple more positive press, but today Apple launches a significant update to its operating system along with its new cloud service.

I am looking forward to testing out both new developments since I continue to more heavily integrate my iPad into the practice of law (in addition to amassing more Zombie games, including the highly addictive Call of Duty: Zombies HD; my joy in slaughtering zombies, albeit only in a video game app, is causing me concern, although there are apparently no moral issues in killing the undead . . . [more]

Osgoode Hall Law School Professor Gus Van Harten and his team have launched a website and database on “International Investment Arbitration and Public Policy.” At its heart, IIAPP offers a database of summaries of some 150 cases brought by investors against states under treaties channelling disputes into less costly arbitration. Examples most familiar to Canadians will be those investor-state arbitrations carried out under NAFTA’s Chapter 11. Investor treaties touch upon a great many policy areas critical to a state’s functioning, areas including agricultural, environmental, human rights and public health policies.

Along with the database come a series of . . . [more]

I have the pleasure of presenting today in Calgary at an Advanced Legal Research Seminar sponsored by the Legal Education Society of Alberta. Included on the panel with me are a number of experienced legal researchers from Alberta, including SLAW’s own Shaunna Mireau.

What makes the seminar interesting is the variety in topics covered, including core research competencies and how to effectively approach research, traditional and non-traditional gathering paths, comparative research (the art of comparing and analyzing), foreign and international legal research, and advanced legislative research. In addition, there is what we are calling a “speed dating” session after lunch . . . [more]

I just stumbled upon the fact that the decision to discontinue publication of the print version of the federal Table of Public Statutes was reversed.

An issue, up to date to Sept 30, 2011 is now available from:

Queen’s Printer

or from

Federal Publications Inc.

This is good news! . . . [more]

Way back in March, LexisNexis Canada announced an app for Quicklaw on the iPhone. Ted Tjaden covered this new development with a review. The app was updated recently, and I thought it might be worthwhile checking out the new features, including an enhanced search interface and results list.

My personal test of the app found it a bit buggy: app shuts down if you go back to the app from the “view in browser link”, view in browser asks for a client id rather than transferring. This may have been due to settings on my device, or my internet connectivity. . . . [more]

Recently, I had occasion to look at the speeches and presentations made by members of ultimate courts of appeal – the Supreme Court and its equivalents. And Canada ranks somewhat disgracefully last in terms of making the speeches publicly available.

Eugene Meehan has monitored the court too for speeches and presentations, but his pickings are similarly slim in recent years. . . . [more]