Breaking the Lock: A Proposed ‘Bug Hunt’ Exception for TPMs

Wikimedia vs BUS: How to Regulate Copyright on Public Art in the Digital Age

If you’re thinking about posting on Instagram one more selfie from your recent trip to Sweden, think again. OffeSntlig Konst, an open database where visitors can see descriptions, maps and images of public works, was recently found guilty of copyright infringement by the Supreme Court of Sweden. According to the court ruling, the platform, owned […]

Embracing failure: IPOsgoode's Orphan Works Hackathon.

Fail early. Fail often. For lawyers and law students, failure is anathemal; but, in the context of design, failure is a valuable learning tool. For three days starting February 3rd, innovators, law students, and stakeholders in the creative industries descended on Osgoode for IPOsgoode's second annual hackathon.

"Notice and Notice" and Video Streaming - Are You Breaking Bad?

Video streaming, we all do it (or have done it at some point). It’s difficult not to in this day and age when entertainment is so easily transportable and amenable to on-the-go enjoyment, the stationary television becoming less and less the platform for watching our favourite movies and shows. Some of us have engaged in […]

The Ambiguous Nature of Copyright Users' Rights

Featured here is a summary of Pascale Chapdelaine’s paper, which was selected through blind peer review for the competitive 6th Annual Junior Scholars in Intellectual Property Workshop (Michigan State University, October 2013) where established American IP scholars, commented on Pascale’s and the other selected participants’ papers.

From Russia With Love: Theft Conviction of Former Goldman Sachs Programmer Overturned at Appeal due to Nature of Property

This April, the United States Court of Appeals ruled that Sergey Aleynikov, former Goldman Sachs software developer-turned convicted thief and spy, was wrongly charged and convicted of theft and espionage under the rationale that software code is not physical property and thereby not subject to theft. This ruling sparks the debate about whether criminal courts […]

IP Note: Ysolde Gendreau on the Copyright Act

Professor Ysolde Gendreau from the Faculty of Law at the University of Montreal wrote an interesting opinion piece for the Montreal Gazette last week. The piece canvasses the history of the Copyright Act, and draws an analogy between the current debate and a similar reform process that took place in the 1950s. In her article, […]

British Sky v Digital Satellite Warranty: A "Made in Europe" Approach To Database Protection

Courtney Doagoo is a doctoral student at the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law. On October 27, 2011, the High Court of Justice Chancery Division ruled in favour of British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC et al. (Sky) on a summary judgment against Digital Satellite Warranty Cover Limited et al. (Defendants). The Defendants were held liable […]