Intellectual Property: Fuel for the Fire or Shelf Life of a Banana?

IP Osgoode and Osgoode Hall Law School host intellectual property symposium in honour of Osgoode Prof. David Vaver

TORONTO, Thursday, Nov. 16, 2017 – For nearly 40 years, Professor David Vaver has been a guiding force in the Canadian intellectual property (IP) landscape. On Monday, Nov. 20, IP Osgoode and Osgoode Hall Law School at York University will host a special symposium in honour of Vaver – Intellectual Property: Fuel for the Fire or Shelf Life of a Banana?

Vaver’s scholarly outputs have been cited with approval in rulings by the Supreme Court of Canada and other court and tribunal opinions. His teaching, at universities on three continents, has influenced generations of students who have gone on to practise, research and teach IP law. On May 10, 2017, the Governor of General of Canada inducted Vaver as a Member of the Order of Canada in recognition of “his leadership in intellectual property law as a scholar and mentor”.

David Vaver

The symposium will include a distinguished set of participants drawn from Vaver’s network of former students, colleagues and research collaborators. It will take place from 9am to 4:15pm in Room 1014, Osgoode Hall Law School, Ignat Kaneff Building, Keele campus.

The event will highlight four main themes of Vaver’s extensive scholarship: overlap and redundancy in the IP system, legislation and reform, users’ rights, and the importance of history. IP Osgoode founder and director Professor Giuseppina D’Agostino, who will chair the day’s events, describes her former law professor and now colleague as “a visionary and his work has had an astonishing influence on the Canadian legal world and, ultimately, on that of the Canadian public on so many levels.”

Following the symposium, the conversation will continue on IP Osgoode’s blog (www.iposgoode.ca), the IPilogue, which will feature blogs and commentary about each panel session. The event will be audio-recorded and a podcast of each panel session, the keynote speech and Vaver’s closing remarks will be made available for those who could not attend. A video of highlights from the day’s events and special messages from some of the participants will be posted on IP Osgoode’s website. In addition, a special edition of the Intellectual Property Journal will be convened with articles and commentaries contributed by the guest speakers and participants.

The Honourable Marshall Rothstein, CC,QC (Supreme Court of Canada, 2006 to 2015) will provide a luncheon keynote and will be introduced by The Honourable Roger T. Hughes, QC (Federal Court of Canada, 2001 to 2016).

The first session, “Too Much of the Same: Overlap & Redundancy on the IP System,” will feature Hughes, Graeme Dinwoodie, Professor of Intellectual Property and Information Technology Law, University of Oxford, and Jeremy de Beer, Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa. D’Agostino will chair the session.

“Towards a Coherent Moral Centre: Legislation & Reform,” will be chaired by IP Osgoode faculty member Professor Carys J. Craig, Associate Dean, Research & Institutional Relations, and Associate Professor, Osgoode Hall Law School, and feature Bita Amani, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, Queen’s University, and Graham J. Reynolds, Assistant Professor, Peter A. Allard School of Law, The University of British Columbia.

The newest IP Osgoode faculty member, Saptarishi Bandopadhyay, Assistant Professor, Osgoode Hall Law School, will chair the session on “User Rights,” an area where Vaver has made a formative contribution. The panel includes Shamnad Basheer, Visiting Professor of Law, National Law School, Bangalore, and Honorary Research Chair Professor of IP Law, Nirma University, Daniel R. Bereskin, QC, Founding Partner, Bereskin & Parr LLP, and Wendy J. Gordon, William Fairfield Warren, Distinguished Professor, School of Law, Boston University.

Professor Ikechi Mbeoji, IP Osgoode faculty member and Professor, Osgoode Hall Law School, will chair the day’s final event on “The Importance of History.” The panel features Tina Piper, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, McGill University, and Casey Chisick, Partner, Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP. A cocktail reception will close the day’s events.

Support for the event is provided by IP Osgoode, Osgoode Hall Law School and McCarthy Tétrault.

To attend the symposium, RSVP at http://iposgoode.ca/rsvp (event code: Vaver). For the agenda and participant biographies, click here.

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About IP Osgoode

Conceptualized & founded in 2008 by Professor Giuseppina D’Agostino, IP Osgoode, the Intellectual Property (IP) Law and Technology Program at Osgoode Hall Law School, is an independent and authoritative voice which explores legal governance issues at the intersection of intellectual property and technology. IP Osgoode cultivates interdisciplinary, comparative and transnational research, collaboration, policy-thinking and practice on the basis of a tight connection between teaching, research and clinical action. IP Osgoode has put Osgoode and York University on the map in the global IP debate. We aim to influence the IP debate in Canada and internationally by educating our students and collaborating with the IP community in Canada and worldwide. Together, we have built an innovative program that is cutting-edge and completely unique to Osgoode.

About Osgoode Hall Law School

Osgoode Hall Law School of York University has a proud history of 128 years of leadership and innovation in legal education and legal scholarship. A total of about 900 students are enrolled in Osgoode’s three-year Juris Doctor (JD) Program as well as joint and combined programs. The school's Graduate Program in Law is also the largest in the country and one of the most highly regarded in North America. In addition, Osgoode Professional Development, which operates out of Osgoode’s facility in downtown Toronto, offers both degree and non-degree programming for Canadian and international lawyers, non-law professionals, firms and organizations. Osgoode has an internationally renowned faculty of 60 full-time professors, and more than 100 adjunct professors. Our respected community of more than 18,000 alumni are leaders in the legal profession and in many other fields in Canada and across the globe.

About York University

York University is known for championing new ways of thinking that drive teaching and research excellence. Our students receive the education they need to create big ideas that make an impact on the world. Meaningful and sometimes unexpected careers result from cross-discipline programming, innovative course design and diverse experiential learning opportunities. York students and graduates push limits, achieve goals and find solutions to the world’s most pressing social challenges, empowered by a strong community that opens minds. York U is an internationally recognized research university – our 11 faculties and 26 research centres have partnerships with 200+ leading universities worldwide. Located in Toronto, York is the third largest university in Canada, with a strong community of 53,000 students, 7,000 faculty and administrative staff, and more than 295,000 alumni. York U's fully bilingual Glendon campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education.

Media Contacts:

Virginia Corner, Communications Manager, Osgoode Hall Law School of York University, 416-736-5820, vcorner@osgoode.yorku.ca

Sandra McLean, York University Media Relations, 416-736-2100 ext. 22097, sandramc@yorku.ca