Welcome to the second issue of The IPigram, our weekly eNewsletter.  Our first issue is archived online and available on our website here, along with our introductory video.  

Featured Blog Posts

The Polymorphism of Trade Mark Dilution in India
October 24, 2008 by Dev Gangjee (London School of Economics)

IP Osgoode research affiliate Dr. Dev Gangjee (LSE) has a guest blog post on Spicy IP, in which he discusses Trade-mark dilution in India.

Gowlings LLP Best Comment (Winter 2008)
This week we also feature a past winner of the Gowlings LLP Best Blog in IP Law and Technology Prize: Conrad Seaman’s response to the blog post “The beginning of the end of net neutrality?”

IPilogue – Recent Posts

2 more lost copyright battles to Google’s record
October 27, 2008 by Reshika Dhir (IPilogue Editor)

German courts recently ruled against Google with regard to two cases involving indexing thumbnails of copyrighted images causing them to display with search results. The infringement cases were brought by a photographer and a comic artist. An Apple, The Apple, Whose Apple?  Read more

US PRO-IP Act Shows Signs of Compromise
October 24, 2008 by Julian Ho (IPilogue Editor) 

On October 13, President Bush signed a controversial bill that makes some important modifications to the existing American copyright and trademark regimes.  The Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property (PRO-IP) Act  toughens civil penalties for movie and music piracy and beefs up criminal sanctions for counterfeiters.  Read more

Canada’s Pledge to Africa: Effective at Last or Least Effective?
October 23, 2008 by Jonathan Giraldi (IPilogue Editor)

After years of waiting, Canadian legislation designed to encourage shipments of low-cost HIV/AIDS drugs to developing countries has finally been put to use.  Unfortunately, the delay has only served to highlight some of the problems with the initiative.  Read more 

IP Osgoode Speaks: Upcoming Events

Tues, Nov 4 (12:40pm-1:40pm, Room 204)
Lord Justice Jacob, The Court of Appeal (UK)
Title: “The Scope of a Patent: Claim Construction and Equivalent

Thurs, Nov 6 (12:40pm-1:40pm, Room 204)
Professor Ann Bartow, University of South Carolina School of Law
Title: “The Intersection of Copyright and Pornography”

Fri, Nov 7 (10:00am-2:00pm, Faculty Common Room)
Women and IP Roundtable: Is everything rosy in here or is the glass ceiling tinted pink?   

CHAIR:
Professor Giuseppina D’Agostino (Osgoode Hall Law School)

PANELISTS:
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)

COMMENTATOR:
Pascale Chapdelaine (PhD candidate, Osgoode Hall Law School)

See a list of more upcoming events 

IP in the News

Professor D’Agostino interviewed by CIUT 89.5 FM (Take 5)
Morning radio program asks Professor D’Agostino about the current trade-mark dispute between Apple Inc. and the Victoria School of Business and Technology (the segment starts at the 12:50 mark of the podcast).

What Will the Gov’t Do With the Mongol Trademark?
The WSJ.com law blog reports on U.S. government plans to take away a biker gang’s trademark.

New program at Osgoode
York University’s community newspaper highlights the launch of IP Osgoode.

Indigenous People Seek Recognition At WIPO Meeting On Their Rights
The WIPO Indigenous Caucus has expressed its disappointment over the inability of Indigenous peoples to effectively participate in decision-making.

Dutch court finds youths guilty of ‘virtual theft’
Two Dutch teenagers were convicted of stealing virtual goods.  The judge declares that “virtual goods are considered goods under Dutch law, so this is theft.”

New ID card threatens our privacy
The proposed use of RFID technology in “enhanced” Ontario driver’s licenses is raising concerns.

IP Pick of the Week

www.copyrighthistory.org is a website that provides users access to a digital archive of historical primary copyright sources, created by the Centre for Intellectual Property and Information Law (CIPIL) University of Cambridge and Bournemouth University

IP Poll of the Week

In last week’s poll, 76% of voters were more concerned about prospective employers viewing their social networking profiles online (in comparison to police, parents, or professors). 

This week we ask:
A recent Dutch case appears to have held that items existing within online virtual gaming worlds are “goods” which if “stolen” may be the subject matter of theft under the law.  Do you agree? 

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