Infringement

Revenge of the Trolls: Back to Square One for Apple

“To live is to war with trolls,” said Henrik Ibsen. Well, Apple Inc (“Apple”) has recently reached an impasse in its war against patent holding firm or "patent troll" Lodsys, LLC.

Examining User Generated Content from an Industry Perspective

On October 10, 2013, IP Osgoode hosted a full-day symposium on “User Generated Content Under Canadian Copyright Law” discussing the new UGC copyright exception with guest speakers from government, industry, private practice, and academia.  After a morning showcasing examples of user-generated content (“UGC”) – including a DJ Lance Romance track, Psycho slowed down to 24 […]

European Court of Justice Provides Narrow Answer to Question of Jurisdiction for Internet-based Copyright Infringement

Let’s assume you’re a French musician part of a hip British indie-rock band. 30 years later, you discover that an Austrian company has been making unauthorized CDs and a UK-based outfit has been selling them online.  Can your home court in France hear your action against the Austrian CD manufacturer?  According to a recent preliminary […]

Few People Download Illegally, But Those That Do, Do It A Lot

The few, the mighty. That's one way to describe illegal downloading habits.

Composing Consent: Federal Court Dismisses Pinto v BJEC

The Federal Court recently held that in the absence of a written agreement, a copyright holder could grant implied consent to the use of their work when they allowed the work to be used for the purpose for which it was commissioned. This ruling may cause concern for authors who wish to retain control of their works […]

REMINDER: UGC Under Canadian Copyright Law Symposium

User-Generated Content Under Canadian Copyright Law Featuring Professor Victor Nabhan Genest Global Faculty Thursday October 10, 2013, 9:30am to 5:00pm Osgoode Hall Law School, York University

To Poach a Mockingbird: Harper Lee's Trade-mark Battle

So much for southern hospitality. Celebrated American author Harper Lee finds herself embroiled in a trademark clash for the right to register the title of her own 1961 Pulitzer-winning novel, To Kill a Mockingbird.

Apple's Appealing Patent Result

In the latest episode of the Apple patent saga, the United States Court of Appeals has altered a decision by the International Trade Commission (ITC) discussing two crucial features of the modern smartphone: multi-touch functionality and a method of determining if this touch is a “finger touch.”

Amsterdam Court of Appeals: No Copyright for an Inarticulate Criminal

Can the content of conversations between a famous criminal and police agents taking place in the backseat of a car be protected by copyright? This question, addressed to the Dutch courts in 2006, resurfaced in recent weeks after the decision of the Amsterdam Court of Appeals in the case Endstra Tapes.

Running An Unsecured WiFi Network Is Still Not Negligent

Bleiberg Entertainment was unsuccessful in its argument that running a WiFi network without password protection is negligent in tort law. Bleiberg was aiming to force disclosure of ISP subscriber information to launch copyright infringement actions against those connected to the disclosed IP addresses. Not knowing if those subscribers were directly connected with the infringement, Bleiberg attempted to argue they were nonetheless […]