I am pleased to announce the start of the 2013-2014 school year. For those of you who are just discovering us for the first time, welcome! For those who are returning, welcome back! Last year was one of our most successful years yet, and 2013-2014 is shaping up to be even better. For all those interested in IP and Technology, now is a great time to get involved with IP Osgoode.

We had many achievements last year.  From our highly regarded coverage of the Copyright Pentalogy, to our coverage of ICANN 45, the IPilogue has remained one of the top IP Blogs in Canada. IP Osgoode’s IPilogue blog won second place in the 2012 Canadian Weblog awards for the best blog about education. Our IP Osgoode Speaker Series featured guests such as Supreme Court Justice Marshall Rothstein, Federal Court Justice Rogers Hughes, and publishing industry veteran Douglas Pepper. Our Moot Team placed first at the Harold G. Fox Moot for both best mooting team and best factum, and our IP Intensive program has just started its 3rd year with the addition of three brand new placements at Apotex, Cobalt Pharmaceuticals and CBC/Radio-Canada.

2013-2014 is set to become another successful year at IP Osgoode, and there are many ways for you to become involved. The IPilogue is currently looking for new editors for Fall 2013. These positions are open to all law students in Canada and abroad. For the more artistically gifted, we are also looking for new art editors to help with the masthead artwork and various other projects relating to IP Osgoode. The IPilogue is a great place to get involved in the discussion on about current pressing IP and Technology issues and many student posts have enabled greater employment opportunities for students and let to publication in leading journals. Applications are due Monday September 16th.

We are also looking for Osgoode Hall Law School students to work in our groundbreaking innovation clinic. The clinic is staffed by student volunteers and helps provide legal resources to under-resourced start-up organizations or entrepreneurs requiring assistance in their innovation and commercialization activities. Applications for clinical fellows are due Monday September 16th.

There are a number of events planned for the next school year. Our IP Intensive class is currently hosting two weeks of expert seminars. These seminars cover a wide variety of topics that range from “Collective Copyright Administration” to “Intellectual Property Reform Process”, from “Biotechnology Focus: Pharma” to “Privacy & IP”. The seminars will be led by government officials, industry executives, IP practitioners, academics and members of the judiciary. Anyone interested in attending one of these seminars should contact IP Osgoode.

IP Osgoode will also be hosting a full day symposium entitled “User-Generated Content Under Canadian Copyright Law” on October 10th. The seminar will focus on the legal and commercial aspects of user generated content, and feature topics such as the UGC exception under Canadian copyright law, the interaction UGC with fair dealing, legal aspects of fan fiction and appropriation art, international treaty standards. All are welcome to attend and there is no registration fee. Please RSVP by October 3rd to www.iposgoode.ca/RSVP (Event Code: UGC).

Finally, I am pleased to announce that our IP Osgoode Speaker Series will feature an appearance by Supreme Court Justice Marshall Rothstein on November 25th. Further details on his appearance will be announced on the IP Osgoode website later this year.

Whether your interests lie in media, business, patents or technology, there is something for you at IP Osgoode. For more details about all our programs, see our clubs fair booth this Friday September 6th or contact IP Osgoode at iposgoode@osgoode.yorku.ca.

Giuseppina D’Agostino is the Founder and Director of IP Osgoode, an Associate Professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, and the Founder of the IP Intensive.