The issue at the heart of Sullivan v. Bristol Film Studios is not merely the trivial amount of damages. Instead, the analysis from this recent case puts the principle of proportionality front and centre.
On March 20, 2012, the United States Supreme Court decided Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories, Inc., 132 S. Ct. 1289 (U.S. 2012). The case was unanimous and emphatically reaffirmed that United States patent law does not allow ownership of “laws of nature.” The context was a pair of patents owned by Prometheus which claimed […]
The Copyright Modernization Act (Bill C-11) has generated much discussion on its merits and deficiencies. However, one issue that commentators have not discussed in depth is the relationship between laws and social norms. Specifically, whether any amendments to copyright law in Canada will have an effect on user behaviour given the social acceptability of copyright […]
In a move with far reaching implications for the debates around pharmaceutical patents, innovation and access to medicines, the Indian patent office issued its first ever compulsory licence in the post TRIPS era. While health activists, generic manufacturers and several academics lauded the decision, the multinational pharmaceutical industry was up in arms.
In Manish Patel v Unite, [2012] EWHC 92 (QB), a pilot, who claims he was defamed and harassed by postings on the British Airline Steward and Stewardesses Association (BASSA) forum, applies to the court for an order to allow an independent expert to copy and examine the forum database in order to identify who posted […]
A few weeks ago, while re-reading CCH Canadian Ltd. v Law Society of Upper Canada, [2004] 1 SCR 339 [hereafter CCH], I paused on a rather peculiar detail from this well-known Supreme Court decision. Intrigued, after a brief search, I was surprised to find that no one in Canadian copyright discourse seemed to have expanded […]
Featured here is the first section of a paper by Abraham Drassinower, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Toronto. The paper was originally published in the Notre Dame Law Review. The full article can be found here. The idea that the purpose of copyright law is to provide incentives for creativity is among the most […]
This past fall, I was lucky to have the opportunity to intern at Industry Canada in Ottawa as part of the Osgoode IP Law and Technology Intensive Program. Industry Canada is a federal department that works to make Canada’s industrial sectors more competitive in the world market by attracting investors and traders. The Department’s focus […]
In September 2012, United States patent reform legislation goes into effect. (The “America Invents Act.” or AIA, Pub.L. No. 112–29; House Report No. 112–98 ,112TH Cong., 1ST Sess. 2011. Referenced as “Report.”) The Report states that the AIA was the first “comprehensive patent law reform in nearly 60 years.” The legislative process took six years […]
On January 21, the WHO 130th WHO Executive Board (EB) adopted a resolution for agenda item 6.13 “substandard/spurious/falsely-labelled/falsified/counterfeit medical products” [SFFC]. The resolution is intended to address the growing prevalence of and the health risks associated with “deliberately and fraudulently mislabelled” pharmaceuticals.