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African Patent Offices Not Fit for Purpose

African Patent Offices Not Fit for Purpose

Patents are public documents, issued to inventors by individual states, certifying that the named inventor has been granted a limited monopoly to exclude other persons from working, selling or using an identified invention without the consent or permission of the inventor or her/his assignees or successors-in-title during the lifespan of the patent. The regime of […]

N-C-Double Don’t: Student-Athletes’ Likenesses No Longer Free for Use

N-C-Double Don’t: Student-Athletes’ Likenesses No Longer Free for Use

A landmark ruling on Friday August 8, 2014 determined that the National Collegiate Athletic Association  (the “NCAA”) can no longer stop its athletes from selling the rights to their own names, likenesses, and images. As such, major college student-athletes in men’s football and basketball could walk away from their locker rooms with gym bags full of […]

The Italian Data Protection Authority’s Annual Report 2013 – Big Data, Transparency and Surveillance

The Italian Data Protection Authority’s Annual Report 2013 – Big Data, Transparency and Surveillance

The re-posting of this analysis is part of a cross-posting collaboration with MediaLaws: Law and Policy of the Media in a Comparative Perspective. On June 10, 2014, the Italian Data protection Authority (Garante per la protezione dei dati personali – “DPA”) presented its Annual Report for 2013. In its 17th annual edition of the Report, the […]

US Supreme Court Dials up Privacy Rights of Cell Phones During Arrest

US Supreme Court Dials up Privacy Rights of Cell Phones During Arrest

Courts and privacy advocates across North America have long faced challenges in resolving the questions of whether police officers should be given the right to search the contents of cellphones of an arrestee and if yes, when and under what circumstances this should be permitted. The Supreme Court of the United States has taken the […]

Making the CBC/Radio-Canada’s Giant Castle More User-Friendly

Making the CBC/Radio-Canada’s Giant Castle More User-Friendly

The culture industries appear to be at a crossroads. Shifting advertising practices as well as audience viewing and consumption habits continue to contribute to new challenges and opportunities for media and entertainment providers throughout the world. With its new “A Space for All of Us” strategy, Canada’s national public broadcaster – the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation/Radio-Canada […]

Tariffs 22.D.1 and 22.D.2 - A free preview of what's to come for SOCAN

Tariffs 22.D.1 and 22.D.2 - A free preview of what's to come for SOCAN

On July 18, 2014, the world of everyone who streams music or videos containing music – that is, almost everyone who uses the internet – changed a little bit. On that date, the Copyright Board released a decision certifying two tariffs proposed by the Society of Composers, Authors, and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN). These […]