IP Osgoode Speaks: Graeme Dinwoodie “A Comparative Analysis of Liability for Keyword Advertising”

Nathan Fan is a JD candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School. This past Thursday, IP Osgoode hosted Professor Graeme Dinwoodie, Oxford Professor and Director of the Oxford Intellectual Property Research Centre, who gave a lecture on recent developments in keyword advertising cases. Titled “A Comparative Analysis of Liability for Keyword Advertising”, his lecture focused on […]

That’s Hot: Hallmark Cards unable to slap Paris Hilton with Anti-SLAPP legislation

Nathan Fan is a JD candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School. America’s favourite hotel heiress Paris Hilton can now proceed with her litigation against Hallmark Cards over the unauthorized use of her picture and catchphrase “That’s hot”, according to a recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.  Paris Hilton, who […]

EU Advocate General: Google’s AdWords system does not violate trademarks

Nathan Fan is a JD candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School. Luís Miguel Poiares Maduro, the Advocate General of the European Court of Justice (ECJ), concluded in a recent recommendation to the ECJ that Google’s AdWords system does not violate trademarks when it allows advertisers to select trademarks as keyword triggers for its advertisement service.

The CPCC’s heavy iPod levy

The Canadian Private Copying Collective (CPCC) continues to set forth its proposal of a levy on iPods and other digital audio recording devices. The CPCC is a non-profit agency that collects and distributes the private copying royalties to songwriters, performers, publishers and producers. Since 2000, the CPCC has been collecting levies ranging between 21 and […]

Yahoo's LAUNCHcast shows Webcasting still viable in US

There was once an era where the music record industry existed in a symbiotic relationship with radio stations and broadcasters. Radio DJs could play what they wanted without paying royalties for every song played and radio play was free advertising for the record industry, enticing customers to purchase records from retailers. With the advent of the […]

RealDVD case affirms anti-piracy legislation, but where are my personal use rights?

On 11 August 2009, a U.S. District Court in California ruled that RealDVD, RealNetwork's software that enables users to copy DVDs for personal storage on hard drives, was in violation of U.S. copyright law. In light of the evidence that RealDVD circumvented anti-piracy protection requirements set out in law, Judge Marylin Patel granted the DVD […]

Original | Inspiration: Where to draw the line between flattery and copyright infringement

It is often said that imitation is the greatest form of flattery, but in the world of copyright, flattery is a much more controversial act. If you are not already familiar with the Shepard Fairey v. The Associated Press controversy, hop over to this site and take a look at the two pictures. The original […]

The Pirate Bay 2.0

Despite the ominous verdict from the Swedish court which sentenced The Pirate Bay (TPB) operators to a year in prison and a penalty of US $3.6 million for facilitating copyright infringement, TPB may soon have new life breathed into the service. Global Gaming Factory X, a Swedish software company, has offered to purchase TPB for […]

Who Owns The Beatles’ Publishing Right: Easy as 123?

Michael Jackson's death has the surviving members of the Beatles in knots. Not only because they just lost a fellow musician and entertainment icon, but also because Jackson's untimely death has left his estate mired in legal complexities regarding the future ownership of the publishing rights of the Beatles' catalogue. As co-owner of Sony/ATV Music […]

Virgin Media offers unlimited music downloads to customers in UK

Virgin Media and Universal Music Group  have taken the plunge into an ISP and digital music collaboration to provide customers in the UK with unlimited access to MP3 downloads and streaming of Universal label artists. Although the exact monthly fee for this service has yet to be determined, Virgin plans to provide the service for […]