Improper Motives: Federal Court Safeguards its Process Against “Copyright Trolls”

The Federal Court granted an order compelling an internet service provider (ISP) to divulge the names and addresses of some 2000 account holders implicated in alleged copyright infringement over peer-to-peer (P2P) networks. This type of order is often associated with “copyright trolls” in other jurisdictions. However, in granting the order, Prothonotary Kevin Aalto attached conditions […]

Would a Keyboard by Any Other Name Feel as Sweet? BlackBerry Sues Ryan Seacrest’s Typo

BlackBerry is suing Ryan Seacrest’s iPhone keyboard case company Typo for patent infringement. The suit – which also alleges trade dress infringement, dilution, unfair business practices and unjust enrichment – has garnered headlines in Canada and the US.

“World War Pink”: Victoria’s Secret and Thomas Pink Square Off in Dispute Over “Pink” Brands

The global branding dispute between Thomas Pink and Victoria’s Secret opened up a front in Canada last month. In the decision, Justice Hughes of the Federal Court found that Victoria’s Secret had standing to seek a declaration that use of marks associated with its PINK clothing line did not infringe or depreciate trade-marks owned by […]

Can Capitalism and Collaboration Co-exist? Tech Sector Cross-licensing and the Emergence of ‘Cooperative Competition’

In this year’s State of the Union address, US President Barack Obama reaffirmed his Administration’s commitment to addressing economic inequality by fostering the jobs of the future: “We know that the nation that goes all-in on innovation today will own the global economy tomorrow. This is an edge America cannot surrender.” In order to do […]

Going the Way of the Doha? The TPP and Contested Intellectual Property and International Trade Linkages

It has been nearly twenty years since the Uruguay Round of World Trade Organization (WTO) trade talks that created the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement. In the intervening decades, multilateral trade negotiations have stalled and international agreements relating to intellectual property (IP) law have trended towards bi- and plurilateral levels. And, […]

An Interview with James Williams and Michael Power: Putting Privacy and Data Protection Under the Lens

The course Comparative Law: Privacy and Data Protection is offered this coming term at Osgoode Law School. IP Osgoode interviewed the course co-professors, James Williams (Osgoode site, personal site) and Michael Power (Osgoode site, personal site) for their insight on the exciting contemporary debates in the field.

Dating Sites Scrape Internet for Women’s Photos, Including Those of Deceased

Dubious and likely illegal image scraping is alive and well. And outside of particularly public, harmful cases like Rehtaeh Parsons’ photo ending up on a dating site, few organizations or governments seem to be effectively coordinating to stop the practice.

Google's Big Score: District Court Says Book Digitization Project is Fair Use

In the latest installment of the legal saga surrounding Google's book digitization project,  Judge Denny Chin of the Southern District NY court has granted summary judgement in favour of Google, Inc. following eight years of litigation.

Inequitable Conduct in Canadian Patent Prosecution

The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently provided an example of when patents will be invalidated due to inequitable conduct. Canadian patent law presently has no comparable doctrine of inequitable conduct, but the US ruling provides an interesting comparative basis from which to discuss the duty of good faith in Canadian […]

A Moral Right to Graffiti?

A group of high-profile New York aerosol artists is attempting to invoke a seldom-used US statutory provision to prevent the destruction of a collection of buildings containing its works of graffiti. The buildings known as 5Pointz are an outdoor art space for aerosol artists and the self-described “graffiti Mecca” of the world. Over the past […]