It would be hard to think of anyone who has had as much of a positive and constructive effect on the state of the internet in Canada, and on our digital economy. From the moment we started reading about him, Michael has amazed us with his boundless energy and enthusiasm, his irrepressible good nature, and his encyclopaedic knowledge of the public policy and law of copyright and all things internet.
A long-time friend of mesh (Michael was our first Society stream keynote, and keynoted again at mesh08), Michael joins us again for mesh11 to present a State of the Nation talk on copyright. His always energetic, funny and intensely educational presentations are one of our favourite mesh experiences. The last few years have been turbulent times in copyright law, and while many more Canadians now understand how pressing these issues are (thanks largely to Michael), a presentation that gives us a 50,000 foot view of these difficult issues is a blessing.
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Dr. Michael Geist is a law professor at the University of Ottawa where he holds the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law. He has obtained a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree from Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, Master of Laws (LL.M.) degrees from Cambridge University in the UK and Columbia Law School in New York, and a Doctorate in Law (J.S.D.) from Columbia Law School. Dr. Geist has written numerous academic articles and government reports on the Internet and law and was a member of Canada’s National Task Force on Spam.
He is an internationally syndicated columnist on technology law issues with his regular column appearing in the Toronto Star, Ottawa Citizen, Vancouver Sun, and the BBC. Dr. Geist is the editor of In the Public Interest: The Future of Canadian Copyright Law, published in 2005 by Irwin Law, the editor of several monthly technology law publications, and the author of a popular blog on Internet and intellectual property law issues.
Dr. Geist serves on the Privacy Commissioner of Canada’s Expert Advisory Board and on the Canadian Digital Information Strategy’s Review Panel. He has received numerous awards for his work including the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Pioneer Award in 2008, Canarie’s IWAY Public Leadership Award for his contribution to the development of the Internet in Canada and he was named one of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 in 2003. More information can be obtained at www.michaelgeist.ca.
