www.jeremydebeer.ca

I just returned from London, England, where I was speaking about trends in Canadian copyright law. The conference on "Decentring Internet Regulation" was sponsored by the Society for Computers and Law, and took place at the offices of Herbert Smith LLP. My presentation was titled, "Digital Copyright Regulation in Canada: Leading or Lagging?"

I explained that although Canadians are a decade behind on the policy agenda, this has allowed us study the mistakes made by other countries in some contexts, and incorporate countervailing values in others. The mostly British and European participants clearly admired Canada's approach toward regulation of certain controversial issues. In particular, they felt Canada's experiences to date with TPMs and file-sharing litigation demonstrate the benefits of a "wait and see" approach in an environment where business models and technologies are rapidly changing. Regardless of participants' position on the pros/cons of the possible reforms, it seems nearly everyone agreed that regulation in these areas is premature and dangerous.