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Remuneration Models for Musicians: A Focus on the Reversionary Right

This past fall, Canadian music icon Bryan Adams presented in front of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage to propose an amendment to the Canadian reversionary right [1]. Adams recommended altering section 14(1) of the Copyright Act from twenty-five years after death to twenty-five years after assignment. The goal of such an amendment is to […]

A Possible Legal Response to the Rise of Smart Clothing

In the third instalment of the Toronto Wearables Series, I began to discuss a possible path forward in the regulation of smart clothing. The rise of new ideas and innovations have a tendency to create the illusion that a regulatory scheme is needed in order to capture and govern such inventions. However, it is important […]

From Start-up to Scale-up: A Report on the Innovation Clinic in Canada

Intellectual property (IP) legal clinics play a crucial role in helping Canadian inventors and entrepreneurs bring their inventions to market while strengthening the foundations of the country's innovation ecosystem. IP legal clinics provide pro bono IP information and assistance to under-resourced inventors who are not served by the profession. At the same time, when based […]

Combination of patent law, copyright can protect AI innovation, panel suggests

This article was originally posted on thelawyersdaily.ca How courts deal with the concept of authorship is an area to watch as artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more creative and humanlike, noted panellists at Bracing for Impact: The Artificial Intelligence Challenge Part II conference series hosted by IP Osgoode. Lawyers and academics pointed to examples of creative […]

ICYMI: Highlights from Part 2 of IP Osgoode's Bracing for Impact AI Conference Series

  On March 21, 2019, we had the pleasure of attending IP Ogsoode's Bracing for Impact conference series held at the Toronto Reference Library. This year’s conference theme was data governance, with a focus on novel legal issues with respect to two key sectors - health/science and smart cities. Professor D’Agostino’s opening remarks touched on the […]

Keatley Surveying Ltd v Teranet Inc: The SCC’s Crown Copyright Case

This article was originally posted on theCourt.ca Today (March 29) the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) will hear the intellectual property case of Keatley Surveying Ltd v Teranet Inc, 37863 [Keatley] about the issue of copyright in land surveys. Keatley Surveying Ltd (“Keatley”) brought a proposed class action on behalf of all land surveyors in Ontario against Teranet […]

Tech, Tykes and Teens (or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love GAFA)

As the 2020 Presidential Primary begins to gather steam south of the border, US Senator Elizabeth Warren’s plan to break up big tech (Google, Amazon, and Facebook – she followed up later with a plan for Apple), has once again brought tech regulation into the political realm. But the real crux of the problem, the […]

The (Un)Controllable Rise of Smart Clothing

In the second instalment of the Toronto Wearables Series, I discussed how wearable technology, such as smart watches or smart headbands, has become somewhat common. Indeed, it has enabled users to conveniently stay updated on correspondence, plans, and even fitness schedules. Smart clothing, however, has been less thoroughly explored and advertised to date. In fact, […]

Randomly Generated Art Draws Copyright and Trademark Infringement Claims

When Adam Basanta created his art installation “All We’d Ever Need is One Another”, he wanted to explore technological automatization and the commercialization of art. But as he told the Globe and Mail, he never expected to explore these topics in a courtroom. Nor was he ecstatic to be served with a Statement of Claim. […]