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IP Osgoode Speaks Series Video: Dr. Matthew Rimmer

IP Osgoode would like to thank everyone who attended Dr. Matthew Rimmer’s lecture entitled “The Trans-Pacific Partnership: Copyright Law, the Creative Industries, and Internet Freedom” on October 8, 2015 at Osgoode Hall Law School.  The audio-recording of the lecture is available here. To read the IPilogue’s blog and commentary about the lecture, click here.

The Internet of Things: Guidance, Regulation and the Canadian Approach

The re-posting of this article is part of a cross-posting agreement with CyberLex. The Internet of Things (IoT) has been identified as a disruptive technology, bringing with it both the promise of seamless interconnectivity of devices and, the flip side of that interconnectivity, single-point vulnerability of multiple systems. While businesses rush to embrace the technology, […]

Small Claims Court Makes Some Big Decisions about Fair Dealing and TPMs

In the recently released decision 1395804 Ontario Limited c.o.b. Blacklock’s Reporter v Canadian Vintners Association, the Ottawa small claims court ruled in an interesting way on fair dealing that might have some far-reaching implications if nothing overrules it. Reading a strict interpretation of CCH and the Copyright Act, deputy judge Lyon Gilbert reached the conclusion […]

US: Safe Harbour No Longer

On October 6, 2015, the European Court of Justice declared that the Safe Harbour program – a framework which allowed efficient transfer of personal data between European Union (EU) member states and the US – was invalid. Over 4,000 companies, including data giants such as Facebook, Microsoft, and Google, relied on the Safe Harbour program […]

ASCAP and BMI Consent Decrees Review: Should Partial Rights Withdrawals be Allowed?

Last year the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it was opening a review of antitrust consent decrees that govern the activities of two major US performing rights organizations (PROs): the American Society of Composers and Publishers (ASCAP) and Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI). The organizations administer public performance rights and collect royalties on behalf […]

Copyright, Disability and Social Inclusion: the Marrakesh Treaty and the Role of Non-signatories

Of Rights and Reservations Access to knowledge has always been at the forefront of the international discourse on intellectual property.[1] The idea that a system designed to encourage creativity and foster innovation must allocate exclusive rights to authors and artists is as old as the Statute of Anne.[2] The same statute, however, provides that this […]

The TPP and Patents: Expensive Drugs, Questionable Returns

Modern multi-lateral trade treaties do not habitually soften IP protection. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), signed October 5th, is no exception. With prescription drug costs increasingly weighing on Western nations, does the TPP strike the best balance between protecting patents and incentivizing innovation?

Is Google “Feeling Lucky” at the Supreme Court?

  At the Supreme Court of Canada, Google Inc. will be searching for a more favourable ruling than it got at the Court of Appeal for British Columbia in Equustek Solutions Inc. v. Google Inc. The appeal stems from the BC Supreme Court’s granting of an injunction requiring Google to de-index certain websites from its […]

The User-Generated Content Exception: Moving Away from a Non-Commercial Requirement

Introduction In December 2006, Time magazine celebrated “You” as the person of the year.[1]  In the article, Lev Grossman stated that our history is no longer shaped by a few famous men but by all of us who are part of the new Web.[2]  He applauded the fact that over the past year: We made […]