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 […]
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 […]
Motivated to compete with Facebook and Google, Bell recently announced that starting November 16 it will be collecting massive amounts of customer data to deliver targeted advertising. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) stated that it will be investigating the matter. Canada’s telecom giant is adamant that it will comply with the […]
A group of high-profile New York aerosol artists is attempting to invoke a seldom-used US statutory provision to prevent the destruction of a collection of buildings containing its works of graffiti. The buildings known as 5Pointz are an outdoor art space for aerosol artists and the self-described “graffiti Mecca” of the world. Over the past […]
I am pleased to announce the start of the 2013-2014 school year. For those of you who are just discovering us for the first time, welcome! For those who are returning, welcome back! Last year was one of our most successful years yet, and 2013-2014 is shaping up to be even better. For all those […]
We are pleased to announce details of the 2013 Intellectual Property Law and Technology Intensive Program. The tremendously successful program is currently in its third year, but it is continuing to grow. We are excited to announce the offering of three brand new placements for 2013, and the return of an excellent placement from the […]