Ivana Peloza is a 3L JD Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School. This article was submitted as a requirement for Prof. Pina D’Agostino’s IP Intensive Program.

Bill C-18, the , which was introduced by the Minister of Canadian Heritage in April 2022, seeks to ensure that news outlets are fairly compensated for their news content by digital platforms. The bill establishes a framework for bargaining and negotiation between dominant digital intermediaries (DNIs), like Google and Meta-owned Facebook, and eligible news businesses.

Bill C-18 authorizes the to initiate mandated arbitration between an eligible news business and a digital platform or group of digital platforms. Under Section 53 of the Act, the CRTC has the power to compel commercially sensitive and undisclosed editorial material from eligible news businesses under Bill C-18. Section 58 outlines the CRTC’s power to order production of any record, report, electronic data or other document. If the operator or eligible news business fails to provide all assistance that is reasonably required for the CRTC to exercise their powers and perform their duties, the DNI or news business is in breach of subsection 3 of this section.

The CRTC has emphasized that the is designed to maximize transparency and minimize government involvement. According to the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister, the promise of minimal government intervention is ensured by the exemption order outlined in Section 11(1) of the bill. While this criteria may incentivize voluntary commercial agreements, it does not exempt the parties of these pre-existing agreements from the duty to provide information under section 53 or the .

Advocates and critics of Bill C-18 agree that the Canadian news market is in dire need of long-term structural supports in a rapidly evolving digital age. What they disagree on, however, is whether the Online News Act is a solution or a threat to that cause. , for instance, have suggested that Bill C-18 actually poses a more significant threat to the news industry and Canadian democracy press; it gives the government and its regulator dangerously vague powers to intervene in the news sector.

Without a thriving news industry and robust protection of ethical journalism, the foundations of Canadian democracy are jeopardized. There is, regrettably, no entirely harmless solution – to at least some or certain stakeholders and journalistic entities. While there are recommendations that must be considered in regulations, such as an amendment to designate a section of legislation – if not an entirely separate Act within the bill – and a regulatory body to consider the eligibility of freelance journalists and start-up news outlets, to take an anti-regulatory stance is a defeatist approach. Given the nature of how content is generated and the interconnectedness around the world, it’s easy to forget that digital content is not accessible everywhere and to everyone. Forcing entities to enter into negotiations for the sustainability of the larger news ecosystem, therefore, is a more worthwhile approach than attempting to enforce existing (and failing) initiatives such as and or worse yet – doing nothing at all.

The post Bill C-18: Policy Concerns for the Independent Press appeared first on IPOsgoode.

Ivana Peloza is a 3L JD Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School. This article was written as a requirement for Prof. Pina D’Agostino’s IP Intensive Program.

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s foremost news media company, a nationally-distributed newspaper with one of the largest circulations in Canada. The newspaper’s print and digital formats reach over 6 million readers every week, with Report on Business magazine reaching over 2.5 million readers every issue in print and digital. When I was placed with The Globe and Mail as part of Osgoode’s IP Intensive program, however, I certainly did not expect the extent to which I would be intertwined in the world of tech. Publishing is, of course, one of the core copyright industries – if not the core industry historically associated with copyright. IP law in publishing, especially at The Globe –  who is known for being an early provider of digital media and device-agnostic content delivery – goes far beyond copyright infringement and litigation. There are significant overlaps and considerations to think of with the roll-out of a privacy policy, consumer protection laws, and a range of different agreements including those related to advertising, purchase and sale, events, and content production freelancer rights.

Over the course of my time at The Globe, I gained vast and multidisciplinary experience, but three major themes emerged within my practical and research work: privacy, contracts, and data protection. On my very first day, my supervisor (thankfully) lent me a copy of The Tech Contracts Handbook: Cloud Computing Agreements, Software Licenses, and Other IT Contracts for Lawyers and Businesspeople by David Tollen to start familiarizing myself with these themes. Complying with privacy regulations, especially in IT contracts, is as important as it can be misunderstood. Especially in an era of rapidly developing regulation and technology surrounding privacy, corporate organizations have a strict duty to continually follow the developments in Canadian privacy and data protection law as it relates to different jurisdictions.

My internship also allowed me to reflect on and speak with my supervisor about the differences – between working in-house versus private practice. For instance, private practice may have an entire staff dedicated to accomplishing just one specific aspect of a privacy or contracts matter whereas in-house lawyers might deal collaboratively with the whole breadth of a legal process. In-house has the potential to, therefore, offer a much greater variety and scope of practice and expertise. If my experience at the Globe has taught me anything, it's that this type of legal work makes the days more interesting, in my opinion!

An in-house legal department is also intimately intertwined with the organization’s commercial decision-making. Learning how to navigate the specific challenges of interdisciplinary brainstorming, drafting, and decision-making was a significant takeaway as well. Often, legal professionals or a corporation’s legal team will be coming late compared to the business process and left out of major contractual decisions. Sometimes, however, as was the case with the incredibly accomplished lawyers who I was lucky enough to learn from at The Globe, just by virtue of experience, the legal professionals have beneficial insight into the commercial deal process. Sometimes this is helpful, sometimes it leads to “spinning of wheels” but the point is there is deal structure expertise that isn’t always brought until after the deal is “set.” One of the jobs is to try to get further upstream – even if you’re not necessarily trying to be involved in the day-to-day happenings – but you need to find a way to have some perspective and plan more effectively.

To this point, I often reflected on a piece of advice I was given on the very first day of the IP Intensive Seminars. When I asked the alumni speakers their advice for someone who has never had a summer legal placement before, Denver Bandstra, Associate at Bereskin & Parr LLP, reminded me that I would get used to it “just like any other job.” Like any job, there will always be work-place procedure and workflow that requires orientation and practice. Learning the workflow of a contract renewal and negotiations, or the day-to-day contrast for an in-house lawyer compared to a private practice lawyer, only comes from experience. The experience given in the IP Intensive program, for that reason, is the most worthwhile part of my legal education so far. And particularly, as all things in IP and technology law are proving to be, developing knowledge and familiarity with data and privacy, the Internet and disruptive technology is worthwhile – not just for a career in IP law, but also for any person using social media in the digital age.

The post The Digital Age of Journalism: My Placement at "The Globe and Mail” appeared first on IPOsgoode.