The inescapable world of U.S. politics, especially in an election year, consistently offers much legal debate. Somewhat less often, politicians and their entourages accidentally wade into the domain of intellectual property law. Politicians have famously gotten themselves into controversies by using musical works without the artists’ permission (though, without strong moral rights in the U.S., […]

Beyoncé’s Lemonade left a sour taste in at least one person’s mouth. Matthew Fulks, a Louisville-based filmmaker and creative director at the WDRB Kentucky news station, is taking the singer to court for copyright infringement. The plaintiff claims that Lemonade, Beyoncé’s trailer for her latest album, copies “visual and sonic elements” from his short-film “Palinoia.”

The re-posting of this article is part of a cross-posting agreement with CyberLex. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (“OPC“) has provided its views on the data breach reporting and notification requirements that are soon to be prescribed by regulation under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, SC 2000, c 5 (“PIPEDA“).

The re-posting of this article is part of a cross-posting collaboration with MediaLaws: Law and Policy of the Media in a Comparative Perspective. On May 31, the U.S. Court of Appeals, 4th Circuit, in a 12-3 decision ruled that a warrant is not needed to obtain suspects’ cell-site location information held by carriers, meaning that a court […]

Intro: “The Hook” This summer, an American jury found that “Stairway to Heaven” [hereafter Stairway] rockers Led Zeppelin did not infringe the song “Taurus” [hereafter Taurus], performed by the band Spirit. The plaintiff, Randy Wolfe—or rather, a trustee for the trust which owns the late Wolfe’s copyright—was Spirit’s songwriter, guitarist and vocalist, and the copyright […]

IP Osgoode is delighted to congratulate Professor David Vaver on being inducted into the Order of Canada. Professor Vaver was acknowledged, on the eve of Canada Day on July 1, “for his leadership in intellectual property law as a scholar and mentor”.