The U.S. Ninth Circuit court held in DC Comics v Towle ("Towle") that Mark Towle’s Batmobile replicas infringed DC Comics’ copyrights, and that the Batmobile was a "character" deserving of copyright protection.
Introduction to the panel After two exciting and lively debates on the principle of technological neutrality (see Sebastian Beck-Watt’s coverage here) and reproduction rights (see Paul Blizzard’s coverage here), IP Osgoode’s Unpack SODRAC symposium turned to a new panel to ‘unpack’ the paragraphs of CBC v SODRAC [SODRAC] concerning the mandatory (or not) nature of tariffs […]
The Event Over the course of three days in early February 2016, IP Osgoode played host to the Orphan Works Licencing Portal Hackathon, a multidisciplinary and international event that resulted in a memorable proposal for an “Orphan Hunter.” While that may sound more like a discarded Stephen King draft than a solution to an important […]
On the heels of oral arguments heard before the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) in CBC v SODRAC, the Toronto Intellectual Property Group hosted a fascinating event centered on the principle of technological neutrality from ESA v SOCAN, and how it might be interpreted by the SCC when the case is decided.
A landmark ruling on Friday August 8, 2014 determined that the National Collegiate Athletic Association (the “NCAA”) can no longer stop its athletes from selling the rights to their own names, likenesses, and images. As such, major college student-athletes in men’s football and basketball could walk away from their locker rooms with gym bags full of […]
The culture industries appear to be at a crossroads. Shifting advertising practices as well as audience viewing and consumption habits continue to contribute to new challenges and opportunities for media and entertainment providers throughout the world. With its new “A Space for All of Us” strategy, Canada’s national public broadcaster – the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation/Radio-Canada […]
And so the sparring will go another round. On May 19th the United States Supreme Court delivered its decision on Patrella v Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, allowing Paula Petrella to pursue her copyright infringement claim against MGM Studios despite her decision to wait 18 years to file suit. As a result, the Supreme Court has essentially informed the […]
Creating YouTube videos incorporating copyright protected works is a commonplace, often amateur pursuit of today's tech-savvy cultural 'consumers' and no one is making money off of it, right?... Wrong!
An Ontario Superior Court has rejected a class action settlement between the publisher Thomson Reuters and a collection of Canadian lawyers and law firms, stating that the proposed settlement is not “fair, reasonable, or in the best interests of the Class Members.” The proposed settlement would have seen Thomson Reuters fund a trust for public […]
An American photographer has been making headlines after receiving a massive award for copyright infringement by a health supplement website in relation to two of his photographs. It took 5 years, but on October 11, 2013 Andrew Paul Leonard was awarded $1.6 million in damages to be paid by Stemtech Health Sciences and its distributor.