The seemingly never ending saga between Apple and Samsung that began in 2011 has seen another day (month) in court. On the surface this may seem like another sweeping victory for Apple, but the war isn't over and that might be what really matters.
For the first time in some twenty years, Canada’s copyright law framework is set for the foreseeable future. Previous attempts (in 2005, 2008, and 2010) to update the country’s copyright legislation for contemporary realities were stalled or aborted due to the problematics of successive minority governments during the mid-2000s. After attaining a parliamentary majority in 2011, the […]
Bill C-31, the Economic Action Plan 2014 Act No. 1, which will legislate into law the federal government’s recent budget, includes amendments to a number of statutes. Of particular interest are the amendments to the Trade-marks Act (“TMA”). The changes would reverse what has been the fundamental basis of Canadian trade-mark law for over 150 […]
Whether you grew up an avid comic-book fan, or just plan on seeing X-Men: Days of Future Past (recently released on May 23, 2014) as well as Avengers: Age of Ultron (scheduled for release on May 1, 2015), you might just “Hulk out” when you see two different Quicksilvers in each film. However, this doesn't implicate a plot line […]
On May 19, Blizzard Entertainment, developer of popular games Diablo 3 and StarCraft II, filed a lawsuit against the developers of the ValiantChaos MapHack, an unauthorized program created for use with the StarCraft II computer game. The online gaming community is split over whether Blizzard is in the right; it seems that one of the only […]
Trade-mark law in Canada is poised for transmutation thanks to the 2014 Federal Budget of all things.
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 […]
There are just under two months left to submit your entry to our 6th annual Canada's IP Writing Challenge. 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 […]
This past March, Toronto hosted the 55th Annual Convention of the International Studies Association (ISA). This year’s ISA Annual Convention brought together over 5300 scholars, practitioners, and students to discuss “Geopolitics in an Era of Globalization”. As intellectual property-based industries become increasingly implicated in global economic, social, cultural, and political discussions, copyright issues are becoming more […]
Happy World IP Day! Wow, how many times have you said something like that before? World Intellectual Property Day? Yes, IP has come a long way. Since 2000, member states (currently 187 member states) of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) designated April 26 (even when it falls on a Saturday like this year) as World […]