$5 Cab Ride - SCC Copyright Decisions Don't Take Us Very Far

Given the near-hysterical tenor of much of the media commentary on the July 2012 release of five copyright decisions by the Supreme Court of Canada, you would think the SCC had ruled that dogs could vote and that beer was now free in Canada. While the decisions are positive in regard to user rights for copyright, commentary to the effect that these decisions have "left the rights of authors, publishers and songwriters by the side of the road" is hyper-hyperbole.

Using the "technological taxi" analogy made by the SCC in the ESA v. SOCAN decision, these rulings take us a short ways down the road toward broader fair dealing rights, but there is still a long walk ahead to no-cost copying.