Nora Sleeth is a JD candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School. The UK Government has expressed its agreement with the findings of an independent IP law report released in May 2011. The report, titled “Digital Opportunity: an Independent Review of IP and Growth”, was produced by a team led by Cardiff University Professor Ian Hargreaves.
Kalen Lumsden is a JD candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School. The University of Kansas, one of the first universities with a formal open access policy, along with 21 other universities, have joined together to form the Coalition of Open Access Policy Institutions (COAPI). Their mandate will be to craft policies to implement open access […]
Andrew Baker is an LLB/BCL candidate at McGill University Faculty of Law. The United Kingdom is proceeding with implementation of the Digital Economy Act (DEA) after the legislation recently passed through the judicial review process begun last year.
Taylor Vanderhelm is a JD candidate at the University of Alberta. Marvel Worldwide Inc. won its case to retain the copyrights to comic characters against the estate of legendary comic creator Jack Kirby. The suit was in response to Kirby’s heirs filing of 45 notices of copyright termination in order to reassert their claim to […]
Brent Randall is a JD candidate at the University of Ottawa. The Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) recommended to the General Assembly on July 26, 2011, that a diplomatic conference be held on the protection of audiovisual performances.
Graham Reynolds is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Law at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and an IP Osgoode Research Affiliate. Recent legislative developments in Canada and the United Kingdom (UK) have raised concerns that expansions in copyright protection may negatively impact freedom of expression rights. In June 2010, the Canadian […]
Dan Whalen is a JD candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School. Online file-sharing company Xunlei Limited recently announced that it has indefinitely postponed its initial public offering and NASDAQ listing due to unfavourable market conditions. Although some would claim the setback as a small victory against a leading copyright pirate, inspection of the company’s continued […]
Matt Lonsdale is a graduate of the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University. On July 27, 2011, the UK Supreme Court released its long-awaited decision in Lucasfilm Limited v. Ainsworth. While Andrew Ainsworth is presumably happy with the court’s ruling that the Storm Trooper armour from the Star Wars franchise is utilitarian and does […]
Andrew Baker is an LLB/BCL candidate at McGill University Faculty of Law. The Quebec Court of Appeal has recently ruled on the notorious Robinson Sucroë cartoon plagiarism case. The decision has greatly reduced the remarkable damages awarded by the trial court in 2009, but upholds the finding of liability.
Nora Sleeth is a JD candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School. Justice Floyd of the United Kingdom High Court has provisionally ruled in TV Catchup (TVC) that live Internet streaming of television programs is subject to copyright law. The question has been referred to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for affirmation.