Colourful Rubik’s Cube description leaves public ‘confused’ and ‘scratching their heads’: EU Court of Justice

“Six surfaces being geometrically arranged in three pairs of parallel surfaces, with each pair being arranged perpendicularly to the other two pairs characterised by: (i) any two adjacent surfaces having different colours and (ii) each such surface having a grid structure formed by black borders dividing the surface into nine equal segments”.

The Impact of Free Music Downloads on the Purchase of Music CDs in Canada

This report examines data on the effects of Internet peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing activities on music purchasing which were obtained from a survey commissioned by Industry Canada. The survey was designed to “inform Industry Canada's policy development work” [1] and ultimately therefore support better policy decisions regarding the copyright law in Canada.

Potential Sabotage: Is that What’cha Want?

Michael "Mike D" Diamond, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz and the estate of the recently deceased Adam "MCA" Yauch (“the Beastie Boys”) have launched an action against Monster Energy Drink (hereafter “Monster”) for the use of approximately 3 minutes of their music in a video promoting the “Ruckus in the Rockies” event.

Under Scrutiny: Reverse Payment Agreements

A Reverse Payment Agreement (RPA) is an interesting point of interface between competition law and intellectual property law. One crucial issue in this regard is whether RPAs can trigger antitrust provisions. This issue had been dealt with previously here.

Monsanto v Schmeiser Does Not Indicate SCC Departure From Existing Precedents: But-For Causation Still Required for Contributory Infringement

In Nycomed Canada Inc. v Teva Canada Limited 2012 FCA 195 (Noël, JA), the Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) considered whether the Federal Court erred in rejecting Nycomed’s counterclaim for induced infringement. The FCA upheld the lower court’s decision affirming that but-for causation must be established in order to successfully claim contributory infringement.

IP Osgoode and Osgoode PD host Joint Teleseminar on Copyright Pentalogy

On September 13, 2012, IP Osgoode will be hosting a joint teleseminar with Osgoode Professional Development. The topic of the seminar will be the recent developments in copyright law as a result of Supreme Court rulings on 5 major copyright cases (known as the Copyright Pentalogy). For IP Osgoode coverage of the Copyright Pentalogy, see […]

Software Becomes that Much Harder to Patent in the United States

In the recent decision of Bancorp Services v Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada (U.S.), the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has attempted to reconcile the eligibility of software and business process patents with previous decisions from the United States Supreme Court. The holding also makes qualifying patent eligibility in business […]

For (Re)Sale: The ECJ Rules on the Exhaustion of Software Distribution Rights

Early in July, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) came to a decision with regards to the distribution rights retained by a software company. The ruling, resulting from litigation between UsedSoft GmbH and Oracle International Corp., which can be found here, will prove an important one in today’s increasingly digital society.

Quantum of Solace: UK Court Deems Police Retention of Uncharged Suspect Photos an Invasion of Privacy

A UK High Court ruling handed down in June 2012 will change the policies of the Metropolitan Police (the Met), particularly after they release suspects without laying charges. In a decision centering on privacy practices and the encroachment of the State, it was held that the private interests of two complainants were compromised under the […]

The Tale of the Uni-Brower: Trade-marking Sports Catchphrases

Anthony Davis, formerly NCAA college basketball's breakout star, and presently the New Orleans Hornets' #1 draft pick, might soon be following in the footsteps of fellow NBA player Jeremy Lin, although those steps won't necessarily be on the court as his team's top-scorer.