4th Circuit Appeals Court Rules No Warrant Needed for Suspects’ Cell-Site Location Data

The re-posting of this article is part of a cross-posting collaboration with MediaLaws: Law and Policy of the Media in a Comparative Perspective. On May 31, the U.S. Court of Appeals, 4th Circuit, in a 12-3 decision ruled that a warrant is not needed to obtain suspects’ cell-site location information held by carriers, meaning that a court […]

Stairway to Infringement

Intro: “The Hook” This summer, an American jury found that “Stairway to Heaven” [hereafter Stairway] rockers Led Zeppelin did not infringe the song “Taurus” [hereafter Taurus], performed by the band Spirit. The plaintiff, Randy Wolfe—or rather, a trustee for the trust which owns the late Wolfe’s copyright—was Spirit’s songwriter, guitarist and vocalist, and the copyright […]

Congratulations to Professor David Vaver, Inducted into the Order of Canada

IP Osgoode is delighted to congratulate Professor David Vaver on being inducted into the Order of Canada. Professor Vaver was acknowledged, on the eve of Canada Day on July 1, “for his leadership in intellectual property law as a scholar and mentor”.

Privacy Commissioner Seeks Public Input on Consent Model

The re-posting of this article is part of a cross-posting agreement with CyberLex. On May 11, 2016, Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien announced the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (“OPC”) would seek public input on the issue of how Canadians can give meaningful consent to the collection, use and disclosure of their personal information […]

Maltz v Witterick: Facing the Facts on Copyright Protection for Historic Events

During the Holocaust, a Polish Catholic single mother, Francizska Halamajowa, secreted 15 Jews away from the Nazis. Two families hid for years in the hay loft of her pigsty, while another family lived under the floor in her kitchen. She also hid a deserter from the German army in her attic. To evade suspicion, she […]

Re Facebook Biometric Information Privacy Litigation

Canadian users of Facebook may be familiar with the process of “tagging” photos – adding the names of the people to images – but they may not be familiar with the ‘Tag Suggestion’ feature on Facebook. Tag Suggestions, which automatically scans photos uploaded to the social media site in an attempt to identify for the […]

Changes to Ontario’s Health Information Privacy Law Include Breach Notification, Increased Penalties

The re-posting of this article is part of a cross-posting agreement with CyberLex. Notification to affected individuals and regulators will be required in the event of unauthorized use or disclosure of personal health information under amendments to Ontario’s health information legislation. The Ontario legislature passed Bill 119[1] in May, which amended the Personal Health Information […]

Announcing the Winners of the Gowling WLG Best Blog in IP Law and Technology Prize

IP Osgoode would like to congratulate the winners of the Gowling WLG Best Blog in IP Law and Technology Prize for 2015-2016.  Four prizes in total are awarded each year to Osgoode students and the winning blog posts are featured in the IPilogue. Recipients also receive a $500 award, are announced at Convocation and receive […]

Is This What it Sounds Like when Doves Cry: The PRINCE Act and Canadian Privacy Law

The once proposed PRINCE Act [the Act] has now been set aside after being rushed through the Minnesota state senate. The Act sought to create a new property right in a person’s persona. Canada and the United States both recognize and protect personality rights through similar common law torts. The US appears to also seek […]

Reminder: Canada’s IP Writing Challenge July 1st Deadline!

The deadline to submit an entry for the 8th annual Canada’s IP Writing Challenge is just two weeks away!