Jurisprudence of “Use” And “Correlation” of Trademarks in Non-Use Cancellation Proceedings

Reversing the Clock: Climate Engineering and IP Rights

Managing intellectual property (IP) rights related to climate-protecting technologies has never been as important as it is today. In late 2018, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a landmark report warning that the humans now have 12 years to limit climate change before an irreversible environmental tipping point is reached.  The […]

Academics Against Press Publishers’ Right: 169 European Academics Warn Against It

Click here to read the original post from the Institute for Information Law. Academics from all over Europe give a final warning against the ill-conceived plans for the introduction of a new intellectual property right in news. Read the full letter here in pdf, or below. Statement from EU Academics on Proposed Press Publishers’ Right We, […]

Blockchain: Revolutionizing Content Creation, Registry and Dissemination in the Creative Industry

People often inadvertently refer to “Bitcoin” when they actually mean blockchain, perhaps largely because the Bitcoin cryptocurrency was the first application of blockchain. But, blockchain is more than cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency is a type of digital asset implemented using the blockchain technology. The blockchain technology allows cryptocurrencies to be stored and transferred on a distributed ledger using […]

The (R)evolutionary Impact of AI-Generated Work and Big Data on Intellectual Property Law and Commercialization

Who should own the Intellectual Property (IP) rights for Artificial Intelligence (AI)-generated work? The current global legal regime does not allow for patents and copyright protection of AI inventions and works, and some argue they may ultimately fall under the public domain. The issue of AI creations and big data ownership and their impact on […]

Panelists Share Thoughts on Users’ Rights in the Fields of Patents, Trademarks and Copyrights

On Monday November 20th, 2017 scholars, students, practitioners and IP enthusiasts alike gathered at Osgoode Hall Law School for a symposium in honour of Prof. David Vaver’s appointment to the Order of Canada. The symposium – “Intellectual Property: Fuel for the Fire of Genius or Shelf Life of a Banana” – highlighted four themes of […]

Overlap and Redundancy in the IP System: Is it indeed ‘too much of the same’?

As a lawyer, I perceived overlapping legal rights to be a reasonable attempt of the legislators to cover the numerous nuances of the empirical reality. However, prior to my attendance at IP Osgoode's symposium entitled, ‘Intellectual Property: Fuel for the Fire of Genius or Shelf Life of a Banana?’, which honoured Prof. David Vaver's  Order […]

Announcing the Winner of Canada’s IP Writing Challenge 2017

IP Osgoode and the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada (IPIC) are thrilled to announce the winner of the ninth annual edition of Canada’s IP Writing Challenge:

Artwork to Ashes, Brands to Dust: Australia's Tobacco Plain Packaging Act Held Constitutionally Valid

Put this in your pipe and smoke it: The High Court of Australia recently ruled that the Tobacco Plain Packaging Act withstands constitutional scrutiny, in JT International SA v Commonwealth of Australia. Retailers and smokers will thus soon find themselves scrutinizing things as well, in order to distinguish between identical cigarette packages stripped of all branding and trade-marks.

Appropriately Approaching Appropriation: Osgoode Professors On Feminist Alternatives To Postcolonial Intellectual Property Issues

Mekhala Chaubal is a JD candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School. Our very own Osgoode professors and feminist scholars, Rosemary Coombe and Carys Craig, presented a thought-provoking keynote entitled, “Copyright and the Moral Arts of Appropriation: Feminist and Postcolonial Perspectives”, at the Feminism and the Politics of Appropriation Conference hosted by the Women and Gender Studies […]