Has the Supreme Court Delivered a Knock-Out Blow to the Entertainment Industry?

And so the sparring will go another round. On May 19th the United States Supreme Court delivered its decision on Patrella v Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, allowing Paula Petrella to pursue her copyright infringement claim against MGM Studios despite her decision to wait 18 years to file suit. As a result, the Supreme Court has essentially informed the […]

Music and Copyright: How the Supreme Court Struck the Right Note in Robinson (Even if its Timing was a Little Off!)

In the recent case of Cinar Corporation v Robinson, the Supreme Court of Canada considered the scope of copyright in a children’s television show. The defendants’ show, Robinson Sucroë, was, frankly, so similar in its essential elements to that developed by plaintiff Claude Robinson that few people, if any, were surprised by the Court’s finding […]

Gaining Insight into Canadian Music Week: An interview with Susan H. Abramovitch

Susan Abramovitch, a partner at Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP and the Head of the firm's Entertainment Law Practice, will be speaking on two panels this Saturday at Canadian Music Week (CMW) to discuss Canada's copyright regime and recent developments in Canadian music law and business, and their impact on the Canadian music industry. IP Osgoode had […]

Embracing Technology: A New Hope for Digital Distribution

On March 7th, the 16th annual Osgoode Entertainment & Sports Law Association Conference brought together students and professionals to explore emerging issues in entertainment and sports law. 

Happy Birthday to Whom?: New Litigation Challenges Copyright Ownership in “the World’s Most Popular Song”

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.”

Caught in the Stat: LSE Receives Criticism for its Report on Copyright in the Music Industry

Mark Twain once said that "facts are stubborn things, but statistics are pliable." Now, many believe that the London School of Economics applied their statistics a tad too flexibly this fall when its Media Policy Project Series Editors released a brief advocating that the United Kingdom not implement its expected Digital Economy Act 2010 (DEA).

The Sound of the Internet is Not So Sweet to the Ears of David Lowery

Much has been written and discussed about the state of the music industry, and the impacts digital media has had on it. Past IPilogue coverage has included detailed analysis of last year's copyright pentalogy, the music industry's assault on Eastern European digital stores, and an interview with the president of Music Canada. The main themes of the debate […]

Examining User Generated Content from an Industry Perspective

On October 10, 2013, IP Osgoode hosted a full-day symposium on “User Generated Content Under Canadian Copyright Law” discussing the new UGC copyright exception with guest speakers from government, industry, private practice, and academia.  After a morning showcasing examples of user-generated content (“UGC”) – including a DJ Lance Romance track, Psycho slowed down to 24 […]

European Court of Justice Provides Narrow Answer to Question of Jurisdiction for Internet-based Copyright Infringement

Let’s assume you’re a French musician part of a hip British indie-rock band. 30 years later, you discover that an Austrian company has been making unauthorized CDs and a UK-based outfit has been selling them online.  Can your home court in France hear your action against the Austrian CD manufacturer?  According to a recent preliminary […]

Few People Download Illegally, But Those That Do, Do It A Lot

The few, the mighty. That's one way to describe illegal downloading habits.