A recent cyber-squatting dispute sheds light on the fact that although avenues for resolutions exist, cybersquatting is still a major problem plaguing internet commerce today. It all started when US media giant Viacom, decided to move material about its TV show 'Jackass' to the domain name 'jackass.com', but realized that a serial cybersquatter based in the Virgin Islands (owned […]
Last week the Globe & Mail put out an article on a recent trademark registration that raised the ire of many in the art market. It seems like this issue has now been resolved as the Trademark holders have recently stated that they are willing to expunge the mark and consequently, submit to the storm […]
As discussed by Anna in her post yesterday, fair dealing under Canadian law works as follows: a user is allowed a limited use of a copyrighted material without needing to get permission from the rights holder in specific circumstances; for the purpose of research or private study, criticism or review and for the purposes of news […]
The recent situation concerning the Haka Ka Mate traditional dance is demonstrative that intellectual property law as it now stands, does not always provide the best fit. The Haka Ka Mate is a traditional dance that was composed by the Te Rauparaha of Ngati Toa to commemorate his escape from death. However, it is now […]
Privacy rights are rights that attach to every individual. Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights protects them by asserting that “everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and correspondence.” Despite this, we know that our privacy rights (like all our other rights), are not absolute […]
A recent Berkman Center report sheds new light on the actual effect of the internet on child safety. What is refreshing is its attempt to put the often demonized risk of internet use into perspective. The Task Force found that these risks are complex and multifaceted and are in most cases not significantly different than those […]
Recently in Bangladesh, filmmaker, Ahsanullah Moni partially unveiled his copy of the Taj Mahal. He has reportedly spent close to 58 million (USD), importing granite and marble from Italy, and diamonds from Belgium. He even sent architects to India to copy and measure the dimensions of the original Taj. His reasons? He says Bangladeshis "could not […]
In the wake of the Liberals unveiling of their new carbon tax plan, “A Green Shift for Canada”, Liberals were confronted by an 8.5 million dollar trademark lawsuit. The plaintiff company, “Green shift Inc” was trademarked in 2003 and provides services to help companies adopt environmentally friendly policies and practices. This suit was recently settled […]