IP

The Incredible, Vanishing Internet (and the DMCA)

In the time that it takes you to read this paragraph Google will have removed eight sites from its search engine indexes. Sorry, make that forty.

Diagnosing Ontario's Electronic Medical Records Bill: Healthier, but Not Out of the Woods Yet

The Ontario Government's new electronic health records bill has passed its second reading. The Electronic Personal Health Information Protection Act (Bill 78, EPHIPA or EHR Act), is a responsive and important - yet still wanting - update to Ontario's 2004 electronic health records legislation.

Revenge of the Trolls: Back to Square One for Apple

“To live is to war with trolls,” said Henrik Ibsen. Well, Apple Inc (“Apple”) has recently reached an impasse in its war against patent holding firm or "patent troll" Lodsys, LLC.

The Copyright Pentalogy: How the Supreme Court of Canada Shook Up Fair Dealing

On Friday October 4 2013 , the University of Ottawa hosted the launch event of the new book The Copyright Pentalogy: How the Supreme Court of Canada Shook the Foundations of Canadian Copyright Law. The book, edited by Michael Geist, features chapters written by a number of prominent intellectual property law professors, including IP Osgoode's Professor Giuseppina […]

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 […]

International Aspects of the New User-Generated Content Exception in the Copyright Act

On October 10, Osgoode Hall Law School hosted a symposium on User Generated Content under Canadian Copyright Law. The final panel of the day featured IP Osgoode Advisory Board member Barry Sookman and Prof. Joost Blom, who each gave a talk on the broader international context of the UGC exception created by recent amendments to […]

Authors and Users: Lessons From Outre-Mer

Although states have different cultural and legal traditions, copyright is a legal discipline that unites many aspects of these traditions.

"REPORT and OPINION on the making available and communication to the public in the internet environment – focus on linking techniques on the Internet" Adopted Unanimously by The Executive Committee of ALAI

The exclusive right of “making available” under the WCT [WIPO Copyright Treaty] and the implementing EU legislation cover the offering to the public of a work for individualized streaming or downloading; in addition, where it takes place, the actual transmission of a work to members of the public also is covered, both irrespective of the […]

No Man (or Government Entity) is Above the Law

The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently released a combined opinion regarding the ability of government entities to register their official seal. The decision of In Re: City of Houston serves as a reminder of the substantial differences between Canadian and American trade-mark law.

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.