Having Skin in the Game – How Video Games are Entering the World of Gambling

Gambling has accompanied sports-watching for hundreds of years. In Canada alone, it was reportedly estimated that $500 million are spent annually on provincially-regulated sports gambling. Similar gambling activities are now prevalent in digital arenas. Popular strategy video games, such as Starcraft and Dota 2, have given rise to the massive industry of eSports, or professional competitive […]

SCC Rules in Favour of Plaintiffs in Class Action Against Facebook

On June 23 the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) delivered its decision in Douez v Facebook Inc., ruling in favour of the plaintiff. This decision affirms that the privacy rights of Canadians override forum selection clauses contained in contracts of adhesion, which are becoming increasingly prevalent in places such as online service agreements.

As Netflix Goes Global, CanCon Must Broaden Its Appeal

Since the introduction of Netflix to the Canadian market in September 2010, online television distribution, known as “Over the Top” (OTT) services, have expanded rapidly at a rate of over 25% per year in Canada, becoming one of the main distribution systems for home entertainment. However a 2012 article by Michael Rimock in the Canadian […]

Zara: the Repeat Offender

With ever-changing trends, the cost of keeping up with the latest fad can quickly add up for style-conscious consumers. As such, many well-known clothing retailers have adopted a business model called “fast-fashion”. Retailers –including Zara and H&M– offer the trendiest clothing garments and accessories at a low price in order to cater to the consumer […]

Can’t “Flea” from Louis Vuitton

Although there is no shortage of counterfeit products on the market, it is not everyday that a high fashion designer sues your local flea market. Recently, Louis Vuitton reportedly filed a lawsuit against Dr. Flea’s Flea Market for intentionally selling a handbag that was evidently in violation of Canadian trademark and copyright laws.

Hearing and Healing: Indigenous Artists Talk Music and Reconciliation at the 2017 Global Forum Breakfast 

Last month, I had the pleasure of attending Canadian Music Week’s 2017 Global Forum Networking Breakfast – a Music Canada sponsored event that celebrates and recognizes individuals and organizations in the music community who are using music to make the world a better place. This year’s topic was “The Power of Music: Indigenous Artists Discuss […]

Facebook and Whatsapp Fined for Breaching EU Law and Deceiving Consumers

The re-posting of this comment is part of a cross-posting collaboration with MediaLaws: Law and Policy of the Media in a Comparative Perspective. On 18 May 2017, the European Commission fined €110 million Facebook for providing misleading information during the 2014 takeover of WhatsApp in case COMP/M.7217. Calling it a “proportionate and deterrent fine”, the […]

Branding “Vaverisms”: All I Really Need To Know I Learned From His Quips

Doing a PhD is a long and lonely endeavor. Family and friends brave enough to ask for updates are rewarded with responses ranging from the tired, “I sat. I read. I wrote.” to the lifeless, “I sat. And sat. And sat.” Some students break up the monotony by watching cat videos; I read cat decisions […]

#WorldIPDay - IP Osgoode’s Innovation Clinic in the Spotlight

This year’s World Intellectual Property Day theme is focused on the role that IP rights play in encouraging innovation and creativity and how the IP system supports innovation. At Osgoode Hall Law School, one of the ways we strive to foster innovation is through our Innovation Clinic, a student-focused initiative that assists start-up companies, entrepreneurs […]

Towards an EU-wide strategy on Fintech

The re-posting of this article is part of a cross-posting collaboration with MediaLaws: Law and Policy of the Media in a Comparative Perspective. On March 23 the European Commission organized a conference devoted to institutions, regulators, professionals and scholars from all Europe  on ‘#FinTechEU – Is EU regulation fit for new financial technologies?’. The conference […]