IP Osgoode boasted a packed schedule of events last week.  The events were all well attended and provoked questions and discussion from those in attendance.

On November 4, Lord Justice Jacob of the Court of Appeal for England and Wales gave a talk entitled “The Scope of a Patent: Claim Construction and Equivalents”.  Lord Justice Jacob covered a number of perspectives on claim construction in patents from a unique comparative perspective and answered numerous questions from a captivated audience.

On November 7, IP Osgoode held a roundtable at Gowlings featuring women leading across various fields in intellectual property for a discussion entitled “Women and IP: Is everything rosy in here or is the glass ceiling tinted pink?”  The panelists included:

Susan Abramovitch (Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP)
Professor Ann Bartow (University of South Carolina)
Darlene H. Carreau (Trade-marks Opposition Board)
May Cheng (Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP)
Professor Carys Craig (Osgoode Hall Law School)
Virginia H.L. Jones (Canadian Motion Picture Distributors Association)
Sangeetha Punniyamoorthy (Dimock Stratton LLP)
Pascale Chapdelaine (PhD candidate, Osgoode Hall Law School)

The Honourable Justice Karen Weiler from the Ontario Court of Appeal was also able to join the discussion and provide her perspective.  All the panelists shared diverse experiences and provided valuable insight for all the guests. 

To conclude the day on November 7, Professor Ann Bartow, University of South Carolina, delivered a special lecture “The Intersection of Copyright and Pornography”, where she examined the possible role that copyright law might play in promoting the safety and dignity of pornographic performers in the production of pornography.    

Browse and Enjoy!

Giuseppina D’Agostino

Above: Lord Justice Jacob with Osgoode students (from left, Jonathan Giraldi, Lord Justice Robin Jacob, Shuo Li, Bal Krishna, and Ori Rubin)

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IPilogue – Recent Posts

Supreme Court of Canada Protects Diamonds in the Rough
November 11, 2008 by Jonathan Giraldi (IPilogue Editor)

In a unanimous decision released last Thursday (Apotex Inc. v. Sanofi‑Synthelabo Canada Inc., 2008 SCC 61), the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed that selection patents are, in principle, valid under the Canadian Patent Act.  Read more

‘Women and IP: is everything rosy in here or is the glass ceiling tinted pink?’ – IP Osgoode takes the lead in addressing gender issues in the IP field
November 10, 2008 by Anna Shahid (IPilogue Editor)

On Friday, November 7, IP Osgoode held a unique event: a roundtable of numerous female leaders in the IP field discussed and reflected on the opportunities and challenges that women face in this area of the law.  Read more

Bilski Decision Gives Test for Scope of Patentable Subject Matter for U.S. Patents
November 10, 2008 by Ryan Prescott (IPilogue Editor)

The much anticipated decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Re Bilski is the latest development in the ongoing debate over the scope of patentable subject matter in the United States.  Read more

Typosquatting: a civil conspiracy?
November 9, 2008 by Reshika Dhir (IPilogue Editor)

Google has become a well known name in the world of IP lawsuits. Just before Google got a chance to settle the huge lawsuit over ‘book scanning‘, it was faced with yet another one.  Read more

Free Speech Online Buoyed, but Concerns Remain
November 5, 2008 by Julian Ho (IPilogue Editor)

Last Monday, the British Columbia Supreme Court released an important decision regarding online defamation in Crookes v. Wikimedia Foundation Inc., 2008 BCSC 1424.  Read more

A New Chapter for the Google Books Library Project
November 4, 2008 by Adrienne Ng (IPilogue Editor)

The Google Books Library Project is a hugely ambitious initiative to catalogue the millions of books in the collections of several major libraries and include them into Google Book Search.  Read more

IP in the News

Court Rules Game Manufacturers Have Free Speech Rights
A strip club’s claims that its trademark rights are infringed by the video game “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” have been dismissed.

Downloading guru seeks ruling on legality
The Canadian owner of a popular website (IsoHunt.com) is seeking a ruling from the Supreme Court of British Columbia on whether or not his site violates the Copyright Act.

Supreme Court strengthens drug patent protection
In a unanimous decision delivered by Mr. Justice Marshall Rothstein, the Supreme Court of Canada has held that “selection patents” are acceptable in principle and are not necessarily invalid.

Osgoode Hall offers up new IP resource to students
Canadian Lawyer Magazine runs an article about the new IP Osgoode program

Obama Victory Draws Quick Reactions From IP, Tech Communities
Many are curious to see how Barack Obama’s administration will deal with IP-related policy.  Shamnad Basheer (an IP Osgoode research affiliate) is quoted in the story.

New video ad deal for MySpace, MTV Networks
MySpace will overlay advertisements on MTV content that is uploaded by users and share revenue with content copyright holders. 

Google suddenly big in book business
Canadian publishers are unsure about the effects of the Google Book Search dispute settlement.

IP Pick of the Week

The Intellectual Property Colloquium (hosted by Professor Doug Lichtman, UCLA Law School) provides a series of online audio podcasts devoted to IP topics.

IP Poll of the Week

In last week’s poll, 75% of voters disagreed in supporting a law that requires Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to terminate internet service to those who repeatedly infringe copyright law.

This week’s question: Should business method patents be abolished, as recently suggested by Judge Mayer of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in his dissenting opinion in the Bilski case?

Visit our website to vote on our IP Poll of the Week.