IP Intensive: Supporting Innovation and Entrepreneurship - A Semester at ventureLAB

Before I participated in Osgoode’s Intellectual Property Law and Technology Intensive Program, I thought legal pro bono work only pertained to human rights, criminal, and refugee matters. However, after completing my internship with ventureLAB, a non-for-profit organization that helps technology entrepreneurs with their business development, I realized that entrepreneurs and small businesses are also groups […]

The Legality of "Player" Generated Content

With the rising popularity of video and computer games, a new form of user generated content ("UGC") and a whole new set of intellectual property issues is emerging. Science fiction web series such as  Red vs. Blue use copyrighted graphics and characters from the popular Xbox video game Halo to create new comedic content parodying first person shooter […]

US Decision Baaa-d for Inventions Replicating Nature

In Re Roslin Institute, the U.S. Court of Appeals delivered a potential setback to the biotechnology industry when it confirmed that inventions which are identical to those found in nature cannot be patented. Specifically, it denied patent protection to products of the somatic cloning process invented by Campbell and Wilmut, which included Dolly the Sheep. Since Dolly possesses identical […]

MedEdge 2014 -- New Medical Innovations Bring Privacy Dangers

The 2014 MedEdge Summit was a resounding success. Academics, innovators, entrepreneurs, and practitioners filled the auditorium and networking booths. As one of the lucky attendees, I zoomed in on Dr. Cafazzo’s talk about the significant lack of human use considerations (“reverse human engineering”) in the design of traditional medical products, and the introduction of new […]

Privacy rights out of focus as Colorado court zooms in on First Amendment

In Kristina Hill, Brian Edwards and Thomas Privitere v Public Advocate of the United States, a homosexual couple who had posted an engagement photo on their blog were devastated to discover that the image had been used in two political advertisements that opposed same-sex marriage. After realizing the advertisements had been sent to several thousand […]