A landmark ruling on Friday August 8, 2014 determined that the National Collegiate Athletic Association (the “NCAA”) can no longer stop its athletes from selling the rights to their own names, likenesses, and images. As such, major college student-athletes in men’s football and basketball could walk away from their locker rooms with gym bags full of […]
The re-posting of this analysis is part of a cross-posting collaboration with MediaLaws: Law and Policy of the Media in a Comparative Perspective. On June 10, 2014, the Italian Data protection Authority (Garante per la protezione dei dati personali – “DPA”) presented its Annual Report for 2013. In its 17th annual edition of the Report, the […]
On July 18, 2014, the world of everyone who streams music or videos containing music – that is, almost everyone who uses the internet – changed a little bit. On that date, the Copyright Board released a decision certifying two tariffs proposed by the Society of Composers, Authors, and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN). These […]
Marvel may have to call in The Avengers for help with this one. The comic giant filed papers on July 14th arguing to the U.S. Supreme Court that it should not review the Second Circuit appeal court's decision in Marvel Characters, Inc. v Kirby. The case concerned whether the estate of legendary comic book artist Jack Kirby […]
Avid players of the popular video game Grand Theft Auto V may recognize this scenario: your character is tasked with transporting a female celebrity named Lacey Jonas home from where she is hiding in an alleyway. During the mission, you evade the paparazzi while Lacey spouts bons mots like "I'm really famous. I didn't do anything!" […]
AstraZeneca has been selling Nexium in Canada for 13 years. It is prescribed to treat ulcers, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and related diseases. The active ingredient in Nexium is esomeprazole, one of the enantiomers of omeprazole. Omeprazole is also prescribed to treat these same diseases. Canadian patent no. 2,139,653 (the 653 patent) claims esomeprazole with […]
It’s often hard to recognize the evolving nature of legal regimes amidst the fast-paced and so-called revolutionary social and technological changes facilitated by digital and networked technologies. Laws, norms, and conventions developed over centuries are being problematized and rethought as new social, technological, and economic realities emerge. Computer software, a technology that’s mainstream adoption is […]
The football field is for helmets not headdresses. In the much talked about June 18, 2014 decision in Blackhorse v Pro Football, Inc. the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) made a clear statement that culturally-insensitive trademarks would not be tolerated. The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) decided to cancel six federal trademark […]
Last week, the big news in the video game blogosphere was the reported sale of the world's largest video game collection, comprising over 11,000 games, for more than $750,000 at auction. While the most salient fact of this story may be the magnitude of both the collection and the winning bid, the large numbers obscure a […]
The deadline to submit your entry to our 6th annual Canada's IP Writing Challenge is fast approaching! 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 and/or the Intellectual Property Journal. The deadline to submit is […]