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In memoriam: Alison J. Youngman, 1948 - 2009

In memoriam: Alison J. Youngman, 1948 - 2009

On March 8, 2009 - International Women's Day - the legal profession lost one of its trailblazing women in the field of corporate and technology law, and for me also a friend and mentor. Alison was a devout champion of women, volunteering her precious time to limitless causes from her role as a senior partner […]

News aggregation websites: Fair dealing v. Free riding

News aggregation websites: Fair dealing v. Free riding

There is a growing concern among media companies that news aggregation websites (NAWs) are taking large portions of original content, ‘shaving away potential readers and profiting from the content’ without properly compensating the media companies that provide the original content.  According to the Canadian Copyright Act, such taking of original content is allowed as long as […]

The Pirate Bay: An Ocean Away from Google?

The Pirate Bay: An Ocean Away from Google?

Over an eleven day period ending last Wednesday, three lay judges and one professional judge presided over the most closely followed and polarized trials in recent Swedish history. In their hands lies the fate of the Pirate Bay - the ever-popular BitTorrent website. With the court’s judgment due in April, file-sharers and copyright holders all […]

Movie Piracy in Canada

Movie Piracy in Canada

Daniel Pearlman is a first year law student at Osgoode Hall and is taking the Legal Values: Challenges in Intellectual Property course Movie piracy is a widely debated IP issue. While many would agree that movie piracy is a problem, much controversy surrounds both the extent of movie piracy, and how it ought to be […]

RAND Report on Film Piracy: Gas on the Flame

RAND Report on Film Piracy: Gas on the Flame

Stuart Freen is a first year law student at Osgoode Hall and is taking the Legal Values: Challenges in Intellectual Property course On Tuesday, the RAND Corporation released their latest report “Film Piracy, Organized Crime, and Terrorism”. The report was authored by the independent non-profit think-tank RAND but was funded by a grant from the Motion […]

Dare I use the term "netbook"?

Dare I use the term "netbook"?

Have you seen that new Sony Netbook? The one small enough to fit in your purse? The term netbook is typically used to describe ultra-portable network-enabled laptop computers that are used primarily for low intensity wireless activities like emailing and surfing the web. The typical size of a netbook screen ranges from seven inches to […]

Herdict Web: A User-Empowering Approach to Online Censorship

Herdict Web: A User-Empowering Approach to Online Censorship

“Herdict.org- the Verdict of the Herd,” as introduced by ‘Shep the Sheep’ in this video, alludes to the phenomenon of real-time aggregation of information on the current status of the internet. The focus of this project is to rigorously enumerate the various instances of internet filtering taking place around the world by empowering the users […]

Web Linking Trademark Dispute Settled

Web Linking Trademark Dispute Settled

A settlement has been reached in the U.S. trademark/web linking dispute between law firm Jones Day and real estate information site BlockShopper.com. Jones Day had sought to prevent BlockShopper from linking to Jones Day’s site because they claimed BlockShopper improperly used Jones Day’s marks and gave the impression that Jones Day somehow approved or was […]

Patent Reform May Thwart Obama’s Alternative Energy Efforts

Patent Reform May Thwart Obama’s Alternative Energy Efforts

Stephanie Anderson is a first year J.D. candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School. The United States has long been awaiting Congress to finally agree on proposed patent reform issues, and it seems the anticipation may soon end in the coming months for scientists and researchers. Preliminary hearings are scheduled for March and April of this […]

Pharmaceutical Industry Jumps Into the Patent Pool

Pharmaceutical Industry Jumps Into the Patent Pool

In a move that signals a completely new approach in its industry, pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has announced that it will participate in a patent pool to allow access to patented chemicals and processes for development of treatment options relating to neglected diseases. The pharmaceutical industry has long taken criticism for the price of medicines, […]