In a long-anticipated court ruling on May 9th, a California judge upheld former Village People lead singer Victor Willis’s right to reclaim ownership of hit songs such as “YMCA” and “In the Navy.” Early last year, Willis invoked an amendment of United States copyright law which deals with inalienable “termination rights” with respect to recordings […]
Part of what makes studying the creative arts from a legal perspective so fascinating is the diversity of forms that art takes, and the ways in which law is sometimes underprepared to deal with issues brought forward through art. A classic instance of this problem is the case of Rick Gibson, a Canadian artist who […]
Jay-Z and Kanye West have decided to settle a sampling lawsuit brought forth by soul musician, Syl Johnson. The pair was accused of illegally sampling one of Johnson’s songs on a track entitled, “The Joy,” on their joint album, Watch the Throne. Johnson has had a history of pursuing rappers for sampling, including a $29 […]
In celebration of Canadian Music Week, the IP Osgoode Speaker Series presented a panel discussion on “Copyright and the Music Industry” on March 22, 2012 featuring Robert Levine and Dr. Brett Danaher. Levine spoke about the current state of copyright and the public discourse surrounding it. He argued the need for more effective enforcement mechanisms […]
Representatives of the defunct rock band, The Velvet Underground, have brought an action against the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Inc. concerning rights over the world’s most iconic banana image a full 45 years after it was first released.
Looking at the current state of trans-border licensing of music inEurope, the European example can teach mainly what to avoid. Even more so, many of the issues discussed in the EU might even be totally irrelevant for Canada. Unlike Canada, the EU currently consists of 27 member states, and as of today, there is […]
Ben Farrow is a JD candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School. As previously reported by the IPilogue here, the Supreme Court of Canada is not the only national court grappling with the term “communication to the public”. Similar to two of the internet copyright cases heard by the Supreme Court of Canada earlier this month […]
Tali Eliav and Stephen Hutchison are 2011–2012 articling students at Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP. On December 6 and 7, 2011, the Supreme Court of Canada heard five critically important copyright appeals. We were lucky enough to assist with Cassels Brock’s submissions to the Court. We were also fortunate enough to have a seat in […]
Giuseppina D’Agostino is the Founder and Director of IP Osgoode, the Founder and Director of the new IP Intensive Program, and an Associate Professor at Osgoode Hall Law School. This December copyright is coming to town! Five historic hearings at the Supreme Court of Canada and a brand new copyright bill in Parliament have the […]
Andrew Baker is an LLB/BCL candidate at McGill University Faculty of Law. Canadian Federation of Musicians (CFM) and ACTRA have recently formalized a strategic alliance agreement that outlines opportunities for mutual support on issues of common interest, and promotes solidarity and greater unity of purpose between the two labour unions.