In a recent blog post, Judith Kirkpatrick discusses two British cases dealing with profile ownership on the social networking websites LinkedIn and Facebook [1]. According to Kirkpatrick, the decision in Hays Specialist Recruitment (Holding) Ltd. v. Ions suggests the conclusion that “your LinkedIn profile if used in the course of your employment might not belong […]
Recent public scorn concerning the faulty software patents approved by the United Stated Patent and Trade-Mark Office’s (USPTO) which led to the legal dispute between Research in Motion and NTP [1] may have been the cause for the recent shift in the USPTO’s stance towards a stricter and more onerous test for software patents. The […]
In fashion, the thin line between inspiration and “piracy” becomes increasingly blurred as fashion executives, designers, editors, and lawyers struggle to define what constitutes unethical imitation. Daniel Drapeau, a lawyer representing high-profile clients, criticizes the lack of legal protection in Canada by questioning whether we should be encouraging “cheap chic merchants”. Franco Rocchi of Le Chateau, […]
“Business method” (BM) is a generic term that has been used by many to describe various types of process claims.[1] Business method patents are patents that aim to secure the IP rights associated with a particular method of facilitating business. The Canadian Intellectual Property Office states that business method patents are de facto not patentable.[2] […]
Where does the fashion industry stand in intellectual property law in Canada? Quite frankly, it doesn’t. The fashion industry in Canada is an exception to the “protection rule”. It is a creative industry, arguably as creative as music, movies and novels, yet it has not established the protection of these other industries. The question therefore […]
August 13, 2008 was a day of vindication for plaintiff Robert Jacobsen, as the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, in vacating and remanding a U.S. District Court decision, held that an “open source” software [1] copyright license can be enforceable. Jacobsen oversees the Java Model Railroad Interface (“JRMI”) project, which created DecoderPro, […]
German courts recently ruled against Google with regard to two cases involving indexing thumbnails of copyrighted images causing them to display with search results. The infringement cases were brought by a photographer and a comic artist. The Regional Court of Hamburg said that “By using photos in thumbnails, no new work is created” since the thumbnails […]
After years of waiting, Canadian legislation designed to encourage shipments of low-cost HIV/AIDS drugs to developing countries has finally been put to use. Unfortunately, the delay has only served to highlight some of the problems with the initiative. The shipment of 7 million tablets was sent to Rwanda on September 24 using Canada’s Access to […]
The famous company Apple Inc is ready to take a ‘bite' at Victoria School of Business and Technology. The dispute ‘centers around a piece of fruit'. The ‘apple' could be one of the most litigated issues in history. The story begins in 1978 when Apple Corps, a recording company owned by The Beatles filed a […]
On September 8, 2008, a New York federal court ruled that Steven Vander Ark is permanently enjoined from publishing his ‘Harry Potter Lexicon’. The Lexicon is an A to Z encyclopedia that consists of 2437 entries. The entries describe the creatures, characters, objects, events and places that exist in the world of Harry Potter. The […]