The copyright board has issued a statement that helps clarify the issue of fair dealing and copyright for architectural plans. That is useful for anyone wanting copies of plans in municipal archives, but also for the fair dealing issue in general. Fair dealing is an exception to copyright law that allows one to copy in certain circumstances that would otherwise be a copyright violation.

Fair Dealing is defined in the Canadian copyright act as copyying for research or private study, criticism or review, and news reporting (subject to requirements to list source, author, etc.)

The copyright board says that copying architectural plans in municipal archives is allowed either under an implied license (eg if it is for your own building), or for private research.

That does not mean that one can further copy and use them for commercial purposes though.

Michael Geist has a link to the statement

Howard Knopf has a good post with some background

For the London Free Press – September 10, 2007

Read this on Canoe

Letters of intent are often used as a starting point to negotiate various arrangements. But they can be risky.

The March decision in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice of Wallace v. Allen et al considered whether a particular letter of intent bound the parties.

The case centered on two friends who had entered into a gentleman’s agreement regarding the sale of Mr. Allen’s business interests. These friends started their agreement with a letter of intent that stated “there was still much legal work to be done,” and they would eventually need to enter into a binding agreement.

These friends negotiated over the span of several months, and the buyer started working alongside the seller to learn the business and meet the clients. Ultimately an agreement was drafted, but never signed. The seller lost his faith in the deal and called it off when the buyer was out of town on the day the deal was to close.

The buyer sued his former friend to enforce the letter of intent, saying it created a binding agreement for the sale of the business. The court found, however, that because of the very clear terms in the letter of intent indicating it was only to be a preliminary document, it wasn’t binding.

The court referred to the fact the letter of intent was drafted before negotiations were completed. This turns out to be a key point: If that same letter had been drafted and accepted after negotiations were complete and after a large majority of the terms of the agreement had been decided, the judge may have found it formed a binding agreement.

What protected the would-be seller from having the letter of intent enforced was that there had never been any indication the letter was to be binding. All parties at all times were aware they still had to draft and sign an agreement, and the letter was just a starting point.

When the plaintiff buyer tried to enforce the letter of intent the court refused, finding there was no meeting of the minds. The friends had never meant for the letter to be the final agreement, and they couldn’t now claim otherwise.

The judge referred to the seller’s unfortunate temper, and his all-consuming pride. In this situation, where an agreement between friends was ready to sign, they had begun to work together and visited with each other socially, one minor delay shouldn’t have caused the whole deal to fall apart. The judge, however, couldn’t read into the letter of intent clauses or terms that were simply not there. The language was clear and unambiguous, and the court had to find there was no binding agreement for the sale of the business.

This case illustrates the importance of carefully worded documents, and making sure the parties’ true intent is reflected. A letter of intent can be a useful tool for negotiation, but should the deal sour, a poorly worded letter of intent could turn into a weapon to be used in future litigation.

This article is getting some attention in the blogosphere. Its worth a look if you are interested in where the Web might be headed, and how it might affect your organization, or how you might take advantage of it.

Of course like any predictions, its hard to know how, when, or if these will pan out, and whether they will be evolutionary or revolutionary. Good food for thought nonetheless.

On the device front, Apple announced a slew of new iPod models yesterday that will make any iPod owner want to upgrade. Microsoft announced a new media extender platform, with new hardware to follow shortly, to connect PC to TV. Note to self – need to buy lottery ticket to fund all these toys.

Read the Read/Write Web article

Read an engadget post about the new iPods

Read a gizmodo article about the media extender

ITBusiness.ca has an article entitled Everyone’s a CPO that takes the position that privacy is a line of business issue. In other words, business managers must take responsibility for privacy issues under their control. This results from the recent incident where a doctor lost an unencypted hard drive just weeks after the privacy commissioner ordered the hospital not to allow unencrypted health info leave the hospital.

The point is well taken. Privacy does not exist only at the door of the privacy officer. While everyone does not have to be a privacy expert, every employee should be aware of privacy issues as they relate to their jobs.

Read the ITBusiness.ca article

Read about the recent incident on David Fraser’s blog

For the London Free Press – September 4, 2007

Read this on Canoe

Excited to head back to school with a shiny new notebook computer? A few precautions will lessen the risk that using that computer will lead to trouble.

- Wireless Internet connections are great, but information can be stolen from notebooks while they’re online. For information thieves, it can be as simple as finding someone online using an unsecured wireless network.

If you connect to the Internet using a Wi-Fi network, make sure you use an official one, such as your official university or college Wi-Fi site. Some unofficial Wi-Fi networks are rogue “smurf” sites that allow others to steal personal information or upload viruses on your wireless device.

- Downloading from the Internet also makes you vulnerable to computer viruses — so make sure you have adequate virus protection. The hassle, time and expense of removing a virus is not worth the risk of going without it.

Downloading music (but not video) is generally felt to be legal in Canada — but offering commercial music or video to others and posting it to the Web can easily cross legal lines. The entertainment industry pays close attention to campus networks and users so don’t make yourself a target.

Students should remember to use the Internet as a research tool, not a photocopier. Copyright laws do give wider latitude to copy for academic papers than for commercial works. That is a different issue than plagiarism, however. Always be sure to cite any material taken from the Internet and never try to pass off someone else’s material as your own.

- For those who will stay in touch with friends and family through online networking sites such as Facebook, remember your information is available for others to see. A general rule of thumb is that if you wouldn’t want a prospective employer to see it, it’s best to keep that information to a more private venue.

- Always use effective passwords on e-mail accounts and other access points. In a crowded campus building, protect your notebook and your information by requiring a password to be entered after a few minutes of inactivity. Make sure you choose passwords that are not obvious, and don’t share them with others.

Saving passwords for websites on your computer can be convenient, but it might not be worth the risk if you leave your computer turned on and unattended. If you use an open Internet network, saving passwords on your computer may enable a savvy computer hacker access to banking and other records.

- Computers aren’t the only risks students should be cautioned about. Many students will use debit cards, credit cards or student cards that have been pre-loaded with money. It is important to keep the cards in your possession, keep any PINs secret, and review your card balances or statements regularly to ensure nobody is spending your money.

Get used to guarding your credit card numbers and debit card PINs. Check receipts to make sure they don’t print the full card number, and don’t leave them lying around. Never throw anything containing personal information in the trash — always shred or destroy it.

Being aware of these risks and taking simple precautions will ensure students can concentrate on more important matters, such as the tomorrow’s midterm or Friday’s toga party. Not everyone is out to steal your personal information or your money, but it’s worth taking steps to protect yourself.