AllofMP3, a music-download site, announced that it will reopen after a Russian court acquitted the site’s former owner of violating IP law. The site was originally forced to close following pressure from the US administration over Russia’s poor protection of IP rights. This case immediately reminds me of the controversial Napster site which was forced […]
Intuitively it feels strange to ask whether consumers have a legal right to unlock iPhones, their own personal property. We don’t ask whether someone has a right to change Internet providers while keeping the same computer. Yet Apple and AT&T are trying to convince the American public that there is something wrong with unlocking the […]
The YouTube phenomenon has swept the Internet in a relatively short period of time, but with this popularity has also come an onslaught of copyright infringement litigation. The most significant of this litigation is the1 billion-dollar lawsuit initiated by Viacom in March 2007. Since then, a number of other major media companies and publishers have […]
In August 2007, an unnamed 16 year old from Aix-en-Provence, France, was arrested, detained, and subsequently released for posting his own unauthorised French translation of The Deathly Hallows (the seventh and last chapter in the lucrative Harry Potter series). The book was released at midnight on July 21, and the teen translated the 784 pages […]
The lights dimmed. I settled into my seat. This was the world premiere of British film Boy A, screening one Sunday night at the Toronto International Film Festival. The standard TIFF advertisements for sponsors, etc. came and went. And then, a warning to would-be pirates: “Infrared and night-vision technology may be employed during this screening […]
As I understand it, the American Red Cross (“ARC”) licensed its mark to companies (to be used on emergency/safety kits) for a fee which went to fund its disaster-response efforts. Johnson & Johnson (“JnJ”) is suing the ARC and its licensees over its use of the mark which it claims it has had exclusive rights […]
Unfortunately, as is often the case, new technological developments frequently breed new controversies. The invention of the iPod, despite all its widespread popularity and success, is no exception. Currently at issue is the decision of The Copyright Board of Canada to allow an additional ‘tax’ to be placed on the sale of MP3 and iPod […]
Professor Peter Yu holds the Kern Family Chair in Intellectual Property Law and is the founding director of the Intellectual Property Law Center at Drake University Law School. He writes extensively on international trade, international and comparative law and the transition of legal systems in China and Hong Kong, and is the author or editor […]
Update: If you are unable to view the above video, please follow the link below to launch the video in Windows Media Player. Link to video This lecture assesses how the Supreme Court is interpreting Canada’s intellectual property laws and how its decisions may affect legislative policy. The Court has become more interested and competent […]