Where Copyright Meets Privacy in the Big Data Era: Access to and Control Over User Data in Agriculture and the Role of Copyright

The application of big data in different sectors of the economy and its transformative value has recently attracted considerable attention. However, this transformation, driven by the application of advanced technologies that utilize big data—such as the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), and software systems—raises concerns about access to and control over the user data that results from the uptake in using digital technologies. This Article examines the role different legal regimes have in framing access to and control over various forms of user data from the perspective of technology users in the agriculture sector. This Article then goes on to inquire whether copyright law in unpublished works can serve as a model for a new form of data regulation that shifts ownership claims towards ensuring access and controlling disclosure. The current regime regulating access to and controlling user data is the Fair Information Practices model, implemented primarily through private ordering in contractual arrangement—specifically agreements establishing the relationship between users and technology providers, data intermediaries, and data platforms. This Article seeks to provide a framework that recognizes and protects data originators’ privacy and economic interests in user data by proposing a trust model of data sharing. It does so by studying the normative roots underpinning copyright protection of unpublished works under the doctrine of joint authorship in copyright law. Based on these normative roots, this Article argues that a sui generis legislative framework can be enacted at the federal level, both in Canada and the United States, in order to cater to the interests of technology users regarding data they originate, particularly in terms of activity data, such as farm-operation data and technical data in the form of agronomy data. The Article identifies rights to control disclosure and access data as two minimum rights, which new legislation ought to recognize as flowing from users’ authorship of data and their categorization as users of works under copyright

The Right to Repair Doctrine and the Use of 3D Printing Technology in Canadian Patent Law

3D printing technology is part of a new economic movement, termed the sharing economy, where consumers rely less on large corporations for supplying them with products. The technology allows consumers to bypass the traditional manufacturing process. Instead, consumers increasingly share and sell products to each other on online sharing platforms. Consumers can download digital copies of products and print them in the convenience of their homes. In addition, they can repair and modify these products to suit their needs. Canadian patent law permits the repair of a patent-protected item but prohibits its reconstruction. However, the line between repair and reconstruction is unclear, which can cause tensions between consumers and patent-holders. This article argues that consumers should be given an allencompassing right to repair and modify legally purchased goods for private purposes using 3D printing technology if the repair or modification is not shared with others for a profit. This would give consumers the freedom to share their designs for free while still protecting patent-protected items from piracy. On a broader scale, the proposed legal right would encourage the sharing economy and build positive relationships between consumers and patent-holders

Governance of 3-D Printing Applications in Health: Between Regulated and Unregulated Innovation

The article aims to examine how governance frameworks under regulatory and liability rules in the United States and Canada respond to the challenges and opportunities presented by three-dimensional printing (3DP) applications in health. The discussion demonstrates that 3DP applications in health currently fall between regulated and unregulated innovation, given that existing governance frameworks do not sufficiently capture 3DP’s unique attributes and potential. In identifying approaches to regulatory intervention in the governance of 3DP innovation, the discussion outlines characteristics of 3DP that lend themselves to a model of innovation governance that would allow pre-emptive regulatory actions for optimal outcomes. Thus, the article advances the position that the state of the technology’s development in health applications has matured to such a level that a dedicated regulatory framework is necessary for addressing the uncertainty of risks and for promoting an understanding of the applicability of existing regulatory requirements to guide the flourishing innovation

The Right to Repair Doctrine and the Use of 3D Printing Technology in Canadian Patent Law

3D printing technology is part of a new economic movement, termed the sharing economy, where consumers rely less on large corporations for supplying them with products. The technology allows consumers to bypass the traditional manufacturing process. Instead, consumers increasingly share and sell products to each other on online sharing platforms. Consumers can download digital copies of products and print them in the convenience of their homes. In addition, they can repair and modify these products to suit their needs. Canadian patent law permits the repair of a patent-protected item but prohibits its reconstruction. However, the line between repair and reconstruction is unclear, which can cause tensions between consumers and patent-holders. This article argues that consumers should be given an allencompassing right to repair and modify legally purchased goods for private purposes using 3D printing technology if the repair or modification is not shared with others for a profit. This would give consumers the freedom to share their designs for free while still protecting patent-protected items from piracy. On a broader scale, the proposed legal right would encourage the sharing economy and build positive relationships between consumers and patent-holders