Licensees

Canadians #TalkTV: The Question Surrounding Digital Content Licensing

For the past month the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has been attempting to open its policy and regulation processes to the Canadian public. On October 24, CRTC Chair Jean-Pierre Blais launched A Conversation with Canadians with speeches and discussions at the Université Laval and Ryerson University. As Mr. Blais stated during his presentation at Ryerson, this conversation is designed to […]

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 […]

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 […]

Canadians Make Their Mark on Global Guide for Museum IP

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has updated its Guide on Managing Intellectual Property for Museums, with two Canadians playing major roles in the Guide’s creation.

XBox One: (Not) Attempting to Modernize Through Monopolization

In late May 2013, Microsoft announced details of its new console, the XBox One, to be launched in November 2013. In addition to new games and technical improvements, consumers were surprised by Microsoft’s initial statement that that games on the system would be bound to a user’s account. The PR backlash caused Microsoft to change […]

It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s a Lawsuit! – Termination Rights Denied to Siegel Estate for Superman

Superman – the superhero known to be faster than a speeding bullet and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound – seems to be a magnet for lawsuits. The iconic superhero with the ‘S’ on his chest was the subject of another long legal battle that ended earlier this month. Had the case […]

UK Collecting Societies To Adopt Minimum Standards

The UK government has released a minimum standards document detailing codes of conduct to be implemented by all UK collecting societies. The document details collecting societies’ obligations to rights holders and licensees, and follows recommendations made in an independent report commissioned by Prime Minister David Cameron in 2010.

Bell Shooting for the Stars: CRTC Holds Hearing on the Purchase of Astral Media

In a time where the price for cable TV and Internet subscriptions seem to be ever-increasing, a bid for Astral Media Inc. by Bell Canda Enterprises Inc. (BCE) in March, 2012 for $3.38 billion has roused the concerns of a number competing corporations and consumer groups.

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.