When I applied to participate in the Osgoode Intellectual Property and Technology Intensive Program, I was looking for a practical learning experience that would combine my legal interests with my background in the arts. Not surprisingly, I was thrilled when I heard that I had been placed at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The opportunity to […]
Legislative reform does not happen overnight, especially when it comes to a polarized domain of law like copyright. Legal policy analysts are integral to this process of reform, and this past semester, as a student in Osgoode’s Intellectual Property & Technology Law Intensive Program, I was fortunate enough to spend 10 weeks with one of […]
My 10 week internship at Actavis’ Canadian arm (formerly known as Cobalt), through Osgoode’s IP Intensive Program coincided with a very exciting time for the company. The company recently expanded through a number of acquisitions to make it the third-largest generic pharmaceutical company globally, with commercial operations in more than 60 countries worldwide.
Last semester, I had the honour of interning at the CodeX Center for Legal Informatics at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. This internship was one of the many placements available through Osgoode Hall Law School's Intellectual Property Law & Technology Intensive Program. This program provides students with a two week period of discussions with […]
The “innovation patent system”, a second-tier patent system unique to Australia, was introduced in 2001 by the Australian Parliament to promote the growth of small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) by providing a relatively quick and cost-effective process to obtain patent protection for lower-level or incremental inventions. The World Intellectual Property Office refers to Australian-type “second-tier patents” as […]
For the past month the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has been attempting to open its policy and regulation processes to the Canadian public. On October 24, CRTC Chair Jean-Pierre Blais launched A Conversation with Canadians with speeches and discussions at the Université Laval and Ryerson University. As Mr. Blais stated during his presentation at Ryerson, this conversation is designed to […]
Most members of the public might be surprised to hear that “Happy Birthday to You” is apparently still subject to copyright protection in the United States, let alone that it is the subject of litigation aptly described by the New York Times as a “lawsuit for the ages.”
A key feature of any patent system is the right of enforcement available for infringement. Of the various recourses available in Canada, damages are the default remedy. Care is therefore necessary to ensure the correct level of damages is awarded, if only because undeservedly large or small damages awards may hurt innovation by depleting the […]
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently provided an example of when patents will be invalidated due to inequitable conduct. Canadian patent law presently has no comparable doctrine of inequitable conduct, but the US ruling provides an interesting comparative basis from which to discuss the duty of good faith in Canadian […]
Rules define sport. In boxing, a fighter who is knocked down has a ten-second count to stand up and continue the match. If they fail, they are declared “knocked out” and their opponent wins. Rules also define law - except that in the world of law, the fighter can be declared “knocked out” before they […]