An Interview with James Williams and Michael Power: Putting Privacy and Data Protection Under the Lens

The course Comparative Law: Privacy and Data Protection is offered this coming term at Osgoode Law School. IP Osgoode interviewed the course co-professors, James Williams (Osgoode site, personal site) and Michael Power (Osgoode site, personal site) for their insight on the exciting contemporary debates in the field.

REMINDER: Canada Day Is The Submission Deadline for Canada's IP Writing Challenge!

Canada Day is fast-approaching.  This means it’s also time to prepare your submissions to Canada’s IP Writing Challenge!  The submission deadline is Monday July 1, at 5pm. The winner from each category will receive a prize of $1000 (CAD), publication on the IP Osgoode website, and consideration for publication in the Canadian Intellectual Property Review […]

Announcing the New Exciting Commercializing IP Course at Osgoode

I am excited to announce the addition of a new and exciting seminar course entitled “Legal Values: Commercializing Intellectual Property (IP)” to the ever-growing IP curriculum at Osgoode Hall Law School.

Webcasting IV? Update on Copyright Board of Canada Proceedings on Highly-Anticipated Webcaster Royalty Rates

On September 24, 2012, the Copyright Board of Canada (the “Board”) began a two week public hearing for two proposed Re:Sound tariffs: Tariff 8.A (Simulcasting and Webcasting) and Tariff 8.B (Semi-Interactive Webcasting). This hearing has been highly anticipated since Pandora, a popular American webcaster and an objector participating in the hearing, exited the Canadian market […]

Winners of the Gowlings Best Blog in IP Law and Technology Prize

IP Osgoode would like to congratulate the winners of the Gowlings Best Blog in IP Law and Technology Prize for 2011-2012.  Four prizes in total are awarded each year to Osgoode students.  The winning blog posts are featured in the IPilogue. Recipients also receive a $500 award, are announced at Convocation and receive a permanent […]

Real issue with Amazon's 1-Click patent is business method patentability, not prior art

Kevin Osborne is a JD candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School and is taking the Patent Law course. Earlier this month, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) confirmed Amazon.com's controversial 1-Click patent (PDF) following a re-examination of newly-submitted prior art (via TechFlash).  This re-examination sheds light on the difference between the novelty and obviousness […]

Breaking News Feed: Facebook's Questionable Patent

Jamie Goodman is a J.D. candidate at Osgoode Hall and is taking the Patent Law course. Facebook, a website whose primary platform is based around the notion of sharing, recently received an exclusive patent on its focal “News Feed” layout, which could very well hinder many other social networking sites from sharing information in a […]

Could Patent Trolls Save Innovation?

Stuart Freen is a J.D. candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School and is taking the Patent Law course. Non-practicing entities (NPEs) are rarely depicted in a positive light. Particularly in the IT sector, NPEs or “patent trolls” as they are often called are characterized as opportunistic extortionists, amassing large and strategic patent portfolios without actually conducting […]

WIPO and the Future of Intellectual Property

Nirav Bhatt is an LLM candidate at Osgoode Hall and is taking the Intellectual Property Theory course. WIPO has been the forefront organization within the United Nations (UN) dedicated to develop a balanced and accessible international Intellectual Property (IP) system. Although it was established in 1967, its history stretches back to one hundred and thirty […]

Picture This: Consent and Control over Your Image

ViVien Hoang is a first year law student at Osgoode Hall and is taking the Legal Values: Challenges in Intellectual Property course. Aubry v. Editions Vice-Versa, [1998] 1 S.C.R. 591 altered the legal landscape in which photographers were operating in Quebec.  Aubry distinguishes Canadian public photography laws from American ones; the contrast is evident when […]