Keyword Advertising: When are competitors allowed to use your trademark?

Robert Dewald is a JD Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School Online keyword advertising, using internet search engines such as Google and Yahoo!, continues to be a highly contentious area of the law.  Litigation involving trademark infringement by competing companies in keyword advertising campaigns continues in Canada and around the world.  In Canada, it appears […]

Henley v. DeVore: Musical Copyright Protection and Political Parody

Robert Dewald is a JD Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School The race for political office is competitive and fraught with risk where adversaries seek out support by advertising and creating political platforms to appeal to the majority of voters.  As the cost of political campaigns mount, politicians on the campaign trail seek advantages whenever […]

Online Keyword Advertising: Misleading Customers? Or Providing Alternatives?

Robert Dewald is a JD Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School Online advertising is a growing and lucrative business.  In 2009, $22.7 billion USD was spent on online advertising within the U.S. which is projected to grow to $25.1 billion USD by 2010.  A significant amount of this revenue is generated by Google, Yahoo and […]

Bill C-32: Copyright and Education in the Digital Age

Robert Dewald is a JD Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School Technology plays an important role in today’s educational institutions by providing easy access to and distribution of music, art, literature and other information that forms the foundation of a person’s education.   Yet the innovation and technological advances that have created powerful teaching tools, such […]

Patentability of Computer Programs in Europe

Robert Dewald is a JD candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School On May 12, 2010 the Enlarged Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office (EPO) responded to several questions posed by the President of the EPO, Ms Alison Brimelow, regarding the patentability of computer programs in Europe.  The resounding answer to these questions, provided […]

Openness of Internet amidst wisdom of crowds

Nirav Bhatt is an LLM candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School. The internet has been a useful resource for all ages across the globe. Although the first effects of the revolution were seen in the West, it subsequently spread across the world. Be it the open source software, access to literary and artistic works, music, […]

A Time for Change in a Time of Change

Peter (Zak) Zakrzewski is an adjunct professor at the Schulich School of Business at York University, where he co-created a course in Management of Innovation and Design. He also teaches design at The Centre for Creative Communications.  We live at a unique time, a time of profound global economic, social and cultural shift. The pace […]

The Disappearing Tail: A Clue to the challenges facing Copyright

Virgil Cojocaru is a JD candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School. ‘The Long Tail’, written by Chris Anderson refers to the alleged effect of online stores such as Netflix appealing to smaller niches. Individually these niches do not yield a large profit, but collectively (hence the long part) they can provide a handsome reward. Some […]

Facebook and Online Privacy: A game of cat and mouse

Virgil Cojocaru is a JD candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School. You are shopping online, surfing on Blockbuster. The next day one of your friends on Facebook messages you, “hey Dave, nice choice in movies!” What has just happened here? Some might argue this is just amicable banter between close friends. Others might quickly point […]

Balancing Act: IP Rights vs. Global Public Health Goals

The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) was established under the United Nations Charter as the principal organ to coordinate economic, social, and related work of the 14 UN specialized agencies, functional commissions and five regional commissions.  The ECOSOC is responsible for promoting higher standards of living, full employment, and economic and social progress; […]