Biden Support for Covid-19 Intellectual Property Waiver: A Step Below Progress?

Canada’s IP Strategy: An Encouraging First Step

Toward a Coherent Moral Centre

Legislation and reform, one of Prof. Vaver’s main scholarly themes, was a focus of IP Osgoode’s symposium in honour of Professor David Vaver’s appointment to the Order of Canada. The discussion around the need for reform was targeted at making intellectual property (“IP”) “more about the public” and consistent with the values of “access,” “distribution,” […]

Branding Arts & Literature: More Misleading Cases by A.P. Herbert

It is that time of year when honest Canadians self-report their incomes and voluntarily pay their taxes. But is the tax system impartial to all taxpayers, or does it prejudice against certain activities while subsidizing others? We can learn a thing or two about challenging the status quo from the fictional copyright cases on taxation […]

Branding Fake News: Misleading Cases by A.P. Herbert

There is much ado these days about fake news. Some find it entertaining. Others find it dangerous. Neither can claim that it has been positive or educational. We can learn a thing or two about fake news that lightens the heart and enlightens the mind from the politician A.P. Herbert.

Connecting Canadians, Empowering Inclusive Innovation

Innovation is, once again, a topic of great concern for Canadian policy makers and the commentariat. And for good reason. Yet, at a time when (mainly foreign) companies – notably Alphabet (Google), Apple, Tesla, Amazon, and Facebook – are lauded as being the ‘world’s most innovative’ (for example, see FastCompany and the Boston Consulting Group) […]

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.

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, […]

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?

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.