Introduction In the past 6 months, the US Patents & Trademark Office (USPTO) has published more than 200 patent applications filed by Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and other top-tier financial institutions for their own proprietary blockchain systems. Previously the territory of online anarchists and drug dealers, why are banks suddenly so interested […]
Should all copies be treated the same way for the purposes of Copyright? If the CBC’s internal content management system creates incidental copies of audio works during the creation or broadcast of a television program or movie, does it enage the owner's Copyright under s 3(1)(d) of the Copyright Act [the "Act"]? What incentives do Canada’s […]
Patent law can be a polarizing topic, but it is especially so during international trade negotiations. Perhaps this is because the principles of patent law create fundamental conflicts between those that own patents and those that pay for patents. Despite this divide, these negotiations, along with some international diplomacy, often produce patent chapters that fall […]
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (“TPP”) agreement pages of both the Office of the United States Trade Representative and the White House display an understandable, if not provocative, logo extolling that the trade deal is “Made in America”. For a trade deal whose negotiations spanned the length of President Obama’s term in office, this is hardly surprising: with the end of […]
Fail early. Fail often. For lawyers and law students, failure is anathemal; but, in the context of design, failure is a valuable learning tool. For three days starting February 3rd, innovators, law students, and stakeholders in the creative industries descended on Osgoode for IPOsgoode's second annual hackathon.
Although intellectual property (IP) law adequately protects many forms of IP, the coming commercialization of cheap 3D printers may facilitate new means of mass pirating that existing law cannot prevent. Though legal reform is the common strategy used to deal with IP challenges, the efforts of IP owners might be better spent finding new ways to monetize […]
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?
This article is cross-posted with permission from Bereskin & Parr. The United States Patent and Trademarks Office (USPTO) has released an updated set of Eligibility Examination Guidelines to provide guidance to examiners on when to reject claimed inventions as ineligible abstract ideas. These guidelines give a sense of what computer-implemented subject matter the USPTO considers […]
March 11, 1876. December 18, 1903. July 21st, 1969. These are the dates that John Weigelt — the National Technology Officer for Microsoft Canada — used to provide scale in his recent IP Osgoode Speaks Series presentation: Adjusting to the Changed Frame of Reference of our Technology Enabled World.
Introduction A new business that plans to bring a new and innovative product or service to market ought to address patents right from the first draft of their business plan.