Legal Watch blog recently reported that Apple has applied for a patent on technology that, among other things, would allow Apple to identify and punish users who “jailbreak” or unlock their iPhones or who otherwise tamper with their devices against Apple policy.

Forbes published a story online yesterday about the use of “backscatter x-ray vision” in mobile vans. This scanning technology is the same as that employed at some airports, enabling authorities to see through clothing and luggage. The article features the product being advertized and sold by American Science and Engineering, which has sold more than 500 of the scanners. Their (in my view, creepy) promotional video is embedded below:

The backscatter technology and safety are discussed in the Wikipedia article on the subject.

The use of this technology creates obvious privacy problems, particularly when wielded by or on behalf of . . . [more]

Because URLs are often clumsy and hard to remember, we use bookmarks. Right? If you’re like me, you’ve got certain critical ones strung across your personal bookmarks toolbar, more stacked in folders there, and perhaps hundreds buried in the entrails of your browser’s file system.

But sometimes you’re away from your own machines. Or you can’t quickly come up with one of your hidden bookmarks. It’s good, then, to be able simply to type in the URL and go to your destination. This, of course, depends on whether a URL is memorable. Some are — I have no trouble remembering . . . [more]

Last weekend Premier Dalton McGuinty approved mixed martial arts (MMA) fights in the Province of Ontario, after years of resisting its introduction. Ontario will be the seventh province in Canada to allow MMA fights.

One of the major obstacles has been a provision in the Criminal Code banning what is termed as “prize fights,” with a specific exception for boxing,

Engaging in prize fight
83. (1) Every one who
(a) engages as a principal in a prize fight,
(b) advises, encourages or promotes a prize fight, or
(c) is present at a prize fight as an aid, second, surgeon, umpire,

. . . [more]

The VPD’s own Internal Report (described by the Victoria Times-Colonist here) looks to seal the deal on whether there will be an inquiry into how the Police handled the disappearance of so many women in Vancouver. The T-C also supplies a timeline of problems in the investigation that have been reported. . . . [more]

““It won’t be possible to reform the law of defamation without ensuring there is some protection for privacy. You can’t wholly separate them.” Sir Alan Beith, MP (UK). Story here.

I read Sir Alan’s comment to focus on the reform element more than on the current law element (though of course it arose because Britain does not have any general statutory right to or duty to maintain privacy. There are some court decisions, including from the European Court of Human Rights.)

English and Welsh law on defamation (I know nothing about the Scottish law on the topic) is quite . . . [more]

Scotland proposes to join England and Wales in abolishing the rule against double jeopardy in some criminal matters. According to the story on the BBC site, the move appears to have been prompted by the acquittal, three years earlier, of a person suspected of being guilty of some terrible murders.

The Scottish Law Commission released a report on double jeopardy [PDF] at the end of last year, recommending that the law be changed to permit an acquittal to be set aside where the trial was “tainted.” The Commission was unable to reach a conclusion as to whether an acquittal might . . . [more]

Morrison v. Hooper, 2010 ONSC 4394

M was 84 when she was struck by a vehicle while crossing a road. One liability issue was whether she was in a crosswalk crossing with the lights. She was on her way home from the bank.

She was healthy enough (physically and mentally) before the accident to be living independently, comfortably. Nonetheless, the defence counterclaimed against M’s children for contribution, alleging that M was mentally incompetent, that the children had a duty to supervise her, that they breached this duty, and that that breach was a cause of the incident.

The children moved . . . [more]

As everyone will know by now, Conrad Black’s six libel actions in respect of statements posted on the Hollinger International, Inc. website will be allowed to proceed in Ontario. The defendants lost their challenge to the court’s jurisdiction in the Ontario Court of Appeal judgment released yesterday — Friday the 13th, as it happens. The court explored the proper manner to determine whether “a real and substantial connection” exists between the jurisdiction and the defendant and the plaintiff’s claims; they also looked at whether the motions judge exercised discretion properly on the issue of forum non conveniens.

This entry . . . [more]

Here’s an interesting new online resource — where “interesting” involves some head scratching and not a little wonder. It’s a tax wiki conceived by U of T law prof Benjamin Alarie and built with the help of students in his tax class and others. Taxwiki.ca aims to

. . . establish a publicly-accessible and editable “wiki” of current “interpretation bulletins” and other tax materials. These are not, of course, official CRA interpretations bulletins, but they would initially use as “seed” materials the current stock of bulletins. These are edited and refined by expert users, with the goal of providing an

. . . [more]

In a ruling that could set a precedent for all parents and employers, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal recently decided that employers must promote work-life balance.

U.S. President Obama today signed into law the “Speech Act,” which is aimed at protecting U.S. writers from foreign libel judgments from jurisdictions that, in the opinion of a U.S. court, do not adequately protect freedom of speech. Such foreign judgments will not be enforceable in the United States — where, presumably, the writer’s and publisher’s assets are located. The legislation was prompted, as the BBC report says, by a libel suit against American writer Rachel Ehrenfeld who was sued in England, a notorious destination for libel tourism, because of a book on the funding of terrorism.

I believe that . . . [more]