Blacklock's Reporter

A Canadian-based patent owner is suing Netflix in Federal Court alleging breach of intellectual property on cryptography. Copy Protection LLC of Kanata, Ont. claims the internet TV service used its proprietary technology to prevent illegal downloading. Netflix has not yet filed a statement of defence: “There is no denying that technological innovation is redefining the very definition of broadcasting’.

An employee sacked after an angry sales meeting has won benefits but no “moral damages” in a dispute at Atlantic Canada’s largest Ford dealership. Tense confrontations at work do not necessarily justify compensation for mental suffering, ruled the Supreme Court of Newfoundland & Labrador: ‘A less sensitive person may have reacted differently’.

The defence department has issued 70 pages of specifications for new camouflage screens. A contract notice included details on how to write an instruction manual for using the small tarps – one page only, Concise Oxford English – and a requirement that screens mustn’t be made from PCBS. Canada outlawed the manufacture of polychlorinated biphenyls in 1977: ‘No cracking, peeling or flaking’.

The impact of new anti-piracy legislation has been marginal more than six months after the bill was signed into law, says a trademark attorney. Witnesses at parliamentary hearings had warned the bill was flawed and costly: “They have only started a few cases”.

A confidential memo shows cabinet is counting the days to see if Canada’s economy reaches a first-ever benchmark of $2 trillion before an expected October 19 election. Deputy Finance Minister Paul Rochon warned of “the uncertainty over predicting the exact time at which this will occur.”

Industry Canada has written off more than $303 million in bad loans to corporations since 2006, according to accounts released through Access To Information. The department refused to name companies in default: “If Canadians knew more we could see for once how inefficiently these programs are run”.

Canada’s provinces must cut a total $28 billion a year, every year, for decades to come if debt levels are to be sustainable, says the Parliamentary Budget Office. Only three provinces – British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Québec – now have balanced budgets: “Measures have to be taken”.

Companies face increases of up to 34% on fees used to finance the National Do Not Call List. Telecom regulators yesterday said the fees it charges telemarketers and corporate clients will increase August 1, and again in 2016 and 2017: “Are we as Canadians any better off with the Do Not Call List?”

CBC’s broadcasting mandate must be specialized with new funding drawn from creative methods like a website news paywall under a sink-or-swim scenario for the Crown broadcaster, says a Senate panel. “It is now possible to imagine service without the CBC,” concluded the Senate communications committee.

A federal watchdog intended to monitor banks and insurers is winning praise for “excellent” service – from banks and insurers. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada spent $136,347 on a performance survey that excluded the general public: “Bankers are more likely to rate the effectiveness as excellent”.

Tax Court has invoked the wit of Oscar Wilde in approving 50 percent penalties against a former PepsiCo executive for under-reporting his income. “I am left reminded of what Oscar Wilde wrote in The Decay Of Lying: ‘If a man is sufficiently unimaginative to produce evidence in support of a lie, he might just as well speak the truth at once,’” said Justice Patrick Boyle.

The Department of Agriculture forecasts “tension” with the drought-stricken U.S. over access to cross-boundary water supplies. In a report released through Access To Information, the department said water shortages may see American ecosystems stressed beyond repair: ‘The U.S. may seek to divert water from the Great Lakes and other systems…’

Canadians are seeing greater exposure to an anti-bacterial soap additive banned in Europe, according to new Health Canada data. Environmental groups have appealed for restrictions on triclosan amid worries over its long-term impact: “What we really need is swift action”.

Only four months after promising preferential hiring for veterans, cabinet has issued a new job posting for Sergeant At Arms without any mention of military service as a requirement. The House of Commons post for years was filled by veterans, including two Victoria Cross winners: “We want to show we’re hiring the best candidate”.

Municipal councillors can be sued for defamation if they misspeak in their official duties, courts have confirmed. The Supreme Court declined to hear further appeals in the case of one county councillor publicly insulted by colleagues who then claimed immunity from libel: ‘It’s two centuries of precedent’.