University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist, the man behind the what is perhaps the single most valuable email list on cyberlaw issues, discussing a decision today by Canada's Supreme Court that demonstrates refreshing copyright sanity:

As Professor Vaver, supra, has explained, at p. 171: User rights are not just loopholes. Both owner rights and user rights should therefore be given the fair and balanced reading that befits remedial legislation.

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In words that may reverberate into the online environment, the court also concludes that a person does not authorize copyright infringement by authorizing the mere use of equipment (such as photocopiers) that could be used to infringe copyright. In fact, courts should presume that a person who authorizes an activity does so only so far as it is in accordance with the law.