Sebastian Beck-Watt
IP Year in Review 2018 – A Milestone Year for IP Osgoode and Ground-breaking Changes in the Canadian IP landscape
As we settle into 2019, we look forward to topping the successes of the last year! Ten years ago IP Osgoode, Osgoode’s flagship Intellectual Property Law and Technology Program, was launched with the dream of creating a vibrant community to engage in balanced and objective research, and offer new and unexplored viewpoints to public policy […]
Just Laugh It Off: Trademark Parody and the Expansion of User Rights
I was invited to attend the Canadian Bar Association Intellectual Property section’s IP Day 2017 and Judges’ Dinner, on May 11, 2017 in Ottawa. It was an honour to be invited as the winner of the Intellectual Property Law student essay contest for my paper “Just Laugh It Off: Trademark Parody and the Expansion of […]
IP Intensive- In the Broadcasting Business – A Semester Interning at the CBC
While I never did manage to “accidentally” bump into Peter Mansbridge in the halls or make it onto TV, I would say I still had a great experience as an intern in the CBC’s Law Department. My time with our national broadcaster as part of Osgoode’s Intellectual Property Law & Technology Intensive Program was not […]
Fair Dealing: What Can Be (Fairly) Criticized?
“A picture is worth a thousand words.” That remark might be trite, especially in the era of selfies and Instagram, but a book is more than just words and a photograph is more than just ink– the sum of those parts will have meaning or will depict something beyond any constituent elements. When such a […]
A Look Back on the Development of Software IP Law
Aviv Gaon on Mr. David L. Hayes’ opening session presentation at the 20th Annual BCLT/BTLJ Symposium, Berkeley, California Setting the Stage for the Future Last April, I had the pleasure of participating in the 20th annual Berkeley Center for Law & Technology and Berkeley Technology Law Journal Symposium. The symposium was focused on the past, […]
Fashionable Rip-Offs: Independent Artists Accuse Fashion Giant Zara of Copying Their Work
A lot of fashion seems to look the same; such is the nature of trends and functionality. Sometimes the similarities go much further. Fashion behemoth Zara (among others) is no stranger to accusations it copied other designers’ styles. The company is in that spotlight again: this time thanks to assertions that it blatantly ripped off […]
This is Why You Have an Editor: Politics, Plagiarism, and Copyright
The inescapable world of U.S. politics, especially in an election year, consistently offers much legal debate. Somewhat less often, politicians and their entourages accidentally wade into the domain of intellectual property law. Politicians have famously gotten themselves into controversies by using musical works without the artists’ permission (though, without strong moral rights in the U.S., […]
The Artificial Intelligence Revolution
A few thoughts on Prof. Jean-Gabriel Castel’s talk, Fully Autonomous Artificial Super-Intelligence: Is it a threat to the human race or a blessing? How can it be controlled? Introduction Before they died, my parents told me stories of how the world once was … They remembered a green world, vast and beautiful. Filled with laughter […]
More Money, More Problems: The Science, the Law, and the Fight over CRISPR Patents
From Lab Bench to Court Bench: The Science, the Law, and the CRISPR Patent Dispute Whenever a new technology has the potential to be ground-breaking and extremely valuable, there are bound to be disputes about invention and ownership. From Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison to the new space race, scientists and inventors are often driven […]