IT.CAN
Sixth Annual IT.CAN
Association Conference
October 3 – 4, 2002
Fairmont Château Laurier Hotel
IT.CAN – IT Law Quiz
Name of Contestant:
_______________________________________
prepared by:
Barry Sookman,
Partner, McCarthy Tétrault
Chair, Internet and Electronic Commerce Law
Group (Toronto)
bsookman@mccarthy.ca
(416) 601-7949
www.mccarthy.ca
Copyright McCarthy Tétrault 2002
1. In what case was the following statement made:
“As I have indicated the claims of the scientific
experts do not control the legal context nor the proper
conclusions. Bold assertions that the Internet is unlike
other systems do not lead to the abandonment of the
analysis that the law has traditionally and reasonably
followed to reach just conclusions. The trumpeting of
cyber-space miracles does not add much to the sphere
of debate here and occasionally degenerated into
sloganeering, which decides nothing.”
(a) Public Performance of Music 1996, 1997, 1998
(Tariff 22 Case) Fed.C.A. May 1, 2002
(b) Citron v Canadian Human Rights Commission
(Jan. 18, 2002)
(c) Gutnick v. Dow Jones & Co., (28 August 2001)
(Sup. Ct. Vict.)
(d) Yahoo! Inc. v La Lingue Contre le Raciism et
Antisemitisme (N.D.Cal.2001)
Answer (c)
2. In what case was the following statement made:
“After hearing the evidence in this case the first finding
the Court is constrained to make is that, in the
computer age, lawyers and courts need no longer feel
ashamed or even sensitive about the charge, often
made, that they confuse the issue by resorting to legal
‘jargon’, law Latin, or Norman French. By comparison,
the misnomers and industrial shorthand of the
computer world make the most esoteric legal writing
seem as clear and lucid as the Ten Commandments or
the Gettysburg address; and to add to this Babel, the
experts in the computer field, while using exactly the
same words uniformly disagree as to precisely what
they mean.”
(a) Burroughs Business Machines Ltd. v. Feed-Rite
Mills (1962) Ltd.
(b) Public Utilities Commn. (Waterloo) v. Burroughs
Business Machines Ltd.
(c) Sierra Diesel Injection Service v. Burroughs
Corporation, Inc.
(d) Honeywell Inc. v. Lithonia Lighting Inc.
Answer (d)
3. True or false: The only limitation placed upon
enforcing an exclusion of liability in the event of a
fundamental breach in Canada is where to do so
would be unfair, unreasonable or otherwise contrary
to public policy.
Answer False (not enforced where uncounscionable,
See Hunter Engereering, Gordon Capital cases)
4. True or false: A limitation of liability clause that
excludes liability for tort claims also excludes liability
for negligence.
Answer: False. See. Bow Valley Husky (Bermuda) Ltd.
v. St. John Shipbuilding Ltd., [1997] 3 S.C.R. 1210.
5. True or false: The common law right to terminate a
contract such as a software development contract for
fundamental breach exists independently of any
express contractual right to terminate a contract.
Answer: True See, Bridgesoft Systems Corp. v. British
Columbia, [2000] B.C.J. No. 962 (B.C.C.A.).
6. Match the definition of the term “computer
program” to the statute in which it is used:
(a) Means data representing instructions or statements
that, when executed in a computer system, causes the
computer system to perform a function. ___________
(b) A set of instructions or statements, expressed,
fixed, embodied or stored in any manner, that is to be
used directly or indirectly in a computer in order to
bring about a specific result. ___________
(c) A set of statements or instructions to be used
directly or indirectly in a computer in order to bring
about a certain result. ___________
(1) Criminal Code (Canada)
(2) Copyright Act, United States
(3) Copyright Act, Canada
Answer: (a)=1 (b)=3 (c)=2 (Note: one point for
each right answer)
7. The name for computer programs used by
search engines to electronically visit websites,
gather relevant data about those websites, and
compile and index the information.
(a) worms
(b) crawlers
(c) spiders
(d) webzines
Answer: (b) and (c) (must have both)
8. True or false: A cyberpirate is a person who
registers well-known trade-marks as domain names in
order to sell them to trademark owners.
Answer: True
9. True or false: The term “Cyberspace” was coined
by Canadian writer William Gibson, for the virtual
three-dimensional environment created by computer
networks in which textual, audio, and video electronic
signals travel.
Answer: True
10. Match the definition of the term “electronic
signature” to the statute in which it is used:
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(a) Information in electronic form that is in, attached
to or associated with a document and that a person
creates or adopts in order to sign the document.
__________
(b) A signature that consists of one or more letters,
characters, numbers or other symbols in digital form
incorporated in, attached to or associated with an
electronic document. __________
(c) An electronic sound, symbol, or process,
attached to or logically associated with a contract or
other record and executed or adopted by a person
with the intent to sign the record. __________
(1) USA Electronic Signatures in Global and
National Commerce Act
(2) Personal Information Protection and
Electronic Documents Act
(3) ULCC Uniform Electronic Commerce Act
Answer (a) 3 (b) 2 (c) 1 (Note: one point for each
right answer)
11. In which of the following contracts is
acceptance inferred by conduct?
(a) browse wrap
(c) web wrap
(b) click wrap
(d) shrink wrap
Answer: (a) (c) (d) (must have all three)
12. The registration of a domain name that is an
intentional misspelling of a distinctive or famous
name is called:
(a) Cybersquatting
(c) Typosquatting
(b) Zeroization
(d) Tiering
Answer: (c) See, Shields v. Zuccarini case no. 00-2236
(3rd. Cir. June 15, 2001).
13. In which case was the following judicial
observation made: “The principal difficulty which
this case has given me arises from the
anthropomorphic character of virtually everything that
is thought or said or written about computers. Words
like “language”, “memory”, “understand”,
“instruction”, “read”, “write”, “command”, and many
others are in constant use. They are words which, in
their primary meaning, have reference to cognitive
beings. Computers are not cognitive. The metaphors
and analogies which we use to describe their functions
remain just that.”
(a) Apple Computer Inc. v. Mackintosh Computers
Ltd.
(b) Apple Computer Inc. v. Franklin Computer
Corp.,
(c) Apple Computer Inc. v. Computer Edge Pty
Ltd.,
(d) Milltronics Ltd. v. Hycontrol Ltd., Eng. Ch.D.
(unreported)
Answer: (a), Per Hugessen of Fed. CA
14. In what case did the court make the following
suggestion for separating ideas from expression in
a computer program: “The line between idea and
expression may be drawn with reference to the end
sought to be achieved by the work in question. In other
words, the purpose or function of a utilitarian work
would be the work's idea, and everything that is not
necessary to that purpose or function would be part of
the expression of the idea.”
(a) Computer Associates v Altai
(b) Lotus v. Borland
(c) Delrina v. Duncombe
(d) Whelan v Jaslow
Answer: (d)
15. True or false: Under Canadian law the “merger”
doctrine is considered to be a natural corollary of the
idea/expression dichotomy and if there is only one or a
very limited number of ways to achieve a particular
result in a computer program, copyright does not
subsist in those ways of achieving the particular result.
Answer: True, See, Delrina v Duncombe (Ont.C.A.)
16. In which United States case was the following
statement made: “At issue is a service whose very
raison de’etre appears to be the failitation of a
contribution of copyright infringement on a massive
scale. ”
(a) A & M Records Inc. v. Napster Inc.
(b) UMG Recordings, Inc. v. MP3.com, Inc.
(c) In Re: Aimster Copyright Litigation
(d) Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Reimerdes
Answer: (c)
17. Under the law as set forth by the Federal Court
of Appeal in the Tariff 22 case which statements
are true:
(a) ISP’s can use their facilities to transmit musical
works to end users in Canada without being liable
for communicating works to the public or
reproducing the works as long as no caching is used
by the ISP.
(b) ISPs can use caching technologies as long as
they make no independent selection of the works to
be cached.
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(c) To determine who is liable for communicating
works to the public it is proper to apply the real and
substantial link test and, therefore, a person can be
liable for communicating works to the public in
Canada even if there is no targeting of Canadian
users.
(d) A person who hosts content on a web site can be
liable for authorizing infringement of copyright if
the person knows that the posting is infringing and
doesn’t take steps to remove the content, even
though the hosting party has no control over the
poster and has not actually approved of the posting.
Answer: (c) and (d)
18. In a confidentiality agreement a “residuals
rights” clause is intended to accomplish the
following:
(a) Ensure that ideas, concepts and know-how
developed by a party remains confidential and not
subject to any uses by the party.
(b) Ensure that ideas, concepts and know-how in the
memories of employees can be re-used by the
employees regardless of whether the ideas, concepts
or know-how are the confidential information of the
other party.
(c) Ensure that ideas, concepts and know-how in the
memories of employees can be re-used by the
employees to the extent that the ideas, concepts or
know-how are not the confidential information of
the other party.
(d) Provide for a royalty for the use of a party’s
confidential information under a license.
Answer: (b)
19. How many members does IT.Can have:
between (a) 150 – 200 (b) 201 – 250 (c) 251– 300
(d) 301 – 350
Answer: (d)
20. True or false: The U.S. AntiCybersquatting
Consumer Protection Act can be used by a person who
has no United States trade-mark to obtain a remedy for
the bad faith registration of a domain name in the
United States. __________
Answer: True (Barcelona case)
21. True or false: Theft of confidential information
and infringement of copyright are regarded as theft
under the criminal code. __________
Answer: False (R v Stewart)
22. Under what legislation is the term ‘personal
information” defined as follows: “Personal
information means individually identifiable
information about an individual collected online
including … An e-mail address or other online contact
information, including but not limited to an instant
messaging user identifier, or a screen name that
reveals an individual’s e-mail address; … A persistent
identifier, such as a customer number held in a cookie
or a processor serial number, where such identifier is
associated with individually identifiable information;
or a combination of a last name or photograph of the
individual with other information such that the
combination permits physical or online contacting”
________________________________________
Answer; U.S. Children’s Online Privacy Protection
Rule
23. True or false, under the Uniform Electronic
Evidence Act the integrity of the electronic records
system in which an electronic record is recorded or
stored is conclusively established by evidence that at
all material times the computer system or other similar
device was operating properly or, if it was not, the fact
of its not operating properly did not affect the integrity
of the electronic record.
Answer: False (The UEEA creates a presumption
only.)
24. Which of Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario
was the first to (i) introduce e-commerce legislation
based on the Uniform Electronic Commerce Act
(UECA) ______________________; (ii) pass such
e-commerce legislation ______________________ ;
(iii) have its e-commerce legislation come into force
______________________ .
Answer: (i) Saskatchewan (ii) Manitoba (iii) Ontario
(Note one point for each right anwser)
25. True or False: Under the UECA an electronic
document is presumed to be received by the addressee
if the document is sent to an address designated or used
by the addressee for the purpose of receiving
documents of the type sent even if it has no actual or
constructive knowledge that the document has been
received by its system?
Answer: True (Knowledge is only necessary if no
system has been designated or used by the addresses).
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Tie Breaker Questions
In the event of a tie, the following questions will be
used to determine the winner. (These questions need to
be answered when completing the quiz.)
1. In what case involving Internet jurisdiction was
the following statement made:
“Physical boundaries typically have framed legal
boundaries, in effect creating sign posts that warn that
we will be required after crossing to abide by different
rules. To impose traditional territorial concepts on the
commercial use of the Internet has dramatic
implications, opening the web user up to inconsistent
regulations …”
(a) American Library Association v. Pataki
(b) Digital Equipment Corp. v. Altavista, Inc.
(c) Zippo Manufacturing Co. v. Zippo Distribution
Company Inc.
(d) Braintech Inc. v. Kostiuk
Answer (b)
2. Which judge made the following statement:
"Computers, like Cleopatra, make hungry where
most they satisfy."
(a) Hoffman J., in Missing Link Software v. Magee,
Ch.D August 9, 1988 (unreported)
(b) Whitford J. in Datacall Ltd. v. The Post Office,
Ch.D., November 27, 1981 (unreported)
(c) McGarvie, J., in Madeley Pty. Ltd. & Ors (T/AS
The Venture Group) v. Touche Ross & Co., Aust.
Fed. Ct., Dec. 21, 1989 (unreported)
(d) Steyn J.,in Eurodynamic Systems Plc v. General
Automation Ltd., Q.B.D., September 6, 1988
(unreported)
Answer (b)