May 14, 2012 brings the latest attempt at copyright reform, Bill C-11 one step closer to fruition.

Bill C-11 began with its Introduction and Initial Reading before the House in September of 2011, and is presently, as of May 14 2012, in its Report Stage. Otherwise known as Canada’s Copyright Modernization Act, Bill C-11 was met by a list of last minute motions (totaling 23) proposed by the Green Party’s Elizabeth May and also by Andre Bellavance from the Bloc Québécois Party. Interestingly, neither the Green nor Bloc Parties had representatives present in the parliamentary committee studying the Bill.

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Posted in Canada, Copyright, copyright reform, Digital Locks, Fair Dealing, Uncategorized
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IP Osgoode would like to congratulate the York University Faculty of Science and Engineering as well as Douglas Bergeron and his wife Sandra Bergeron on their two million dollar endeavour to support entrepreneurial programs and initiatives focused on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) majors.

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Posted in Announcements
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Using a quote that he attributes to Pablo Picasso, the late Steve Jobs stated in a 1994 interview that “good artists copy, great artists steal.” It seems somewhat ironic that Apple Inc., the company he co-founded, now finds itself in an entrenched legal battle with Samsung over a number of alleged patent and trademark infringements. The twist? Samsung is one of Apple’s most important component suppliers and has counter-sued Apple, claiming that a number of their own patents have been infringed by the technology giant.

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Posted in Infringement, IP, Patentability, Patents, Smartphones, Technology, Telecommunications, Uncategorized
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Part of what makes studying the creative arts from a legal perspective so fascinating is the diversity of forms that art takes, and the ways in which law is sometimes underprepared to deal with issues brought forward through art. A classic instance of this problem is the case of Rick Gibson, a Canadian artist who made a name for himself in the U.K. in the 1980s. Unfortunately for him, though, the reason that he is well known is that he was found guilty of outraging public decency for producing and exhibiting earrings made from human foetuses in a London art gallery. Though he tried to defend his use of foetuses in that context as being no different from any other basic artistic material like clay or wood, he was unsuccessful in arguing this point. Still, the case raises interesting questions about how legal thought and exploring the boundaries of art can clash at the edges of creative thought.

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Posted in Copyright, Feature Post, IP, Music Industry, Originality
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