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(Ir)Rational Choice Theory: Prof. Chris Buccafusco’s Search for the Biases of Creativity

(Ir)Rational Choice Theory: Prof. Chris Buccafusco’s Search for the Biases of Creativity

What happens when intellectual property law collides with the social sciences? They meld together for some fascinating experiments. In a lecture given at Osgoode Hall Law School as part of the IP Osgoode Speaks Series, Prof. Chris Buccafusco described three such experiments performed by him and his team.[1]  Specifically, their research seeks to develop an […]

Utility Emphasis Lacking in the Examination of Aggregations

Utility Emphasis Lacking in the Examination of Aggregations

The distinction between combinations and aggregations is a well-accepted principle of patent law. A combination is an assemblage of known elements whose combined use leads to a result that is different from the sum of the results of the individual elements. Whereas, an aggregation is an assemblage of elements that each produce their expected result […]

Looks Are Not Everything; Professor Amy Adler's Future of Art

Looks Are Not Everything; Professor Amy Adler's Future of Art

Earlier this month, Osgoode Hall Law School welcomed Amy Adler, New York University’s Emily Kempin Professor of Law, to present on copyright and the future of art. Professor Adler is a leading scholar of art law and specializes in the legal regulation of artistic expression, sexuality and free speech. Visual artists today, as she describes, […]

The Price for Pokemon - How Much Are Childhood Icons Worth Protecting?

The Price for Pokemon - How Much Are Childhood Icons Worth Protecting?

The Value of the Pokémon Franchise If you were born in the late 1980s or early 90s or have young children, you have probably encountered a red-cheeked mouse called Pikachu or any of the hundreds of other Pokémon that exist in the Pokémon media franchise. While the premise of catching colourful creatures is rather straightforward, […]

Not-So-Compulsory Licence: a Proposed (and Rejected) Solution to Copyright Infringement in Derivative Musical Works

Not-So-Compulsory Licence: a Proposed (and Rejected) Solution to Copyright Infringement in Derivative Musical Works

In a recent MTV news article, author Miles Raymer opined over the “hopelessly broken” state of the US copyright system. While such a sweeping statement clearly oversimplifies the state of copyright law in the digital era, there may be some truth to it. Raymer focuses particularly on the tension between an ever-increasing market for derivative works […]

DU Photocopy Case: Fair Dealing or Raw Dealing?

DU Photocopy Case: Fair Dealing or Raw Dealing?

It is fascinating to observe how one common law judicial decision can have a ripple effect in another jurisdiction, especially one eleven thousand kilometres away. The Supreme Court of Canada’s (SCC) decision in Alberta (Education) v. Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright) [Alberta] had exactly such an effect on India.

Fair Dealing: What Can Be (Fairly) Criticized?

Fair Dealing: What Can Be (Fairly) Criticized?

“A picture is worth a thousand words.” That remark might be trite, especially in the era of selfies and Instagram, but a book is more than just words and a photograph is more than just ink– the sum of those parts will have meaning or will depict something beyond any constituent elements. When such a […]

Infringement City Blues (Make Ed Sheeran Wanna Holler)

Infringement City Blues (Make Ed Sheeran Wanna Holler)

Flanked! Two Ed Sheeran songs now face copyright infringement actions. One alleges Sheeran’s “Photograph” copied a song called “Amazing” written for X Factor winner Matt Cardle. Richard Busch—also counsel for the Marvin Gaye estate in the “Blurred Lines” case—filed in June on behalf of “Amazing”’s copyright owner, HaloSongs, Inc. Another, filed in August on behalf […]