Since our class is focused on Canadian IP law, I’m working to incorporate some relevant discussions from Swiss legal literature that I’ve come across. This paper examines copyright issues related to generative AI, with a focus on text and image generation programs. The first part briefly outlines the basics of such AI programs. The discussion […]

At the end of the last class, we realized that one of the pressing questions related to AI that courts around the world will soon have to answer is whether the equivalent of the Canadian “fair dealing” is met when generative AI uses copyrighted works to “learn”. That same day, I came across an interview […]

As we’re wrapping up the course section on copyright and considering we have focused a lot on AI, I thought it would be interesting to share a case from 2023 in China where it was held that there can be copyright in works of AI. The case involved an AI generated image which was created […]

My experience suggests mentally budgeting for roughly one technical gaffe per semester when using lecture capture. Guess this week was that class for IP Law. So close to Halloween the horrors of the “headless instructor” does seem oddly appropriate. As well, the sound is not working for the first few seconds of the class, but […]

This term I am taking another IP course with Professor Reynolds about the intersection between IP and human rights. I decided to write my final paper on how enacting Anti-SLAPP legislation at the federal level could bolster users’ rights (framed as free expression rights as well as IP rights) and the doctrine of fair dealing […]

I came across an interesting story regarding a copyright issue and McDonald’s ice cream machines: https://ktla.com/news/consumer-business/mcdonalds-restaurants-find-solution-for-infamous-broken-ice-cream-machine-issues McDonald’s ice cream machines are notorious for frequently being out of service. These machines are exclusively supplied by Taylor Company, which previously held the sole copyright and the exclusive right to repair them. This restricted McDonald’s franchisees and other […]

Qualcomm is an American company that designs CPUs. ARM is a British company that licenses off-the-shelf CPU core designs to other manufacturers. Unlike the x86 architecture designed by Intel that is featured in virtually all modern desktops and laptops, ARM-based CPU designs are low power and are widely used in smartphones, cars, and the burgeoning […]

Back in March this year, the High Court of Justice in the UK dismissed the claim by Dr. Craig Wright, a computer scientist and businessman from Australia, that he is the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto, the unrevealed mastermind behind Bitcoin. Justice Mellor, in the decision issued on May 20, found that Dr. Wright did not write […]

I recently read an interesting article about Temu, an online retail platform known for copying the works of independent designers and selling them at a very low cost. The article highlights the challenges these designers face in seeking justice, shedding light on the feelings of powerlessness many experience when their work is replicated by a […]

Came across another example today of news publishers suing AI for copyright infringement. The Wall Street Journal and New York Post sue AI search engine Perplexity accusing Perplexity of copying copyrighted news and using it to generate responses to users’ queries. The article notes how it is among other actions taken against Perplexity by news […]

I came across a New York Times Daily podcast about the movie “The Blind Side” that reminded me of a discussion from class a few weeks ago. The podcast (and the NYT article it is based on) provides the perspective of Michael Oher, whose “story” is told in “The Blind Side”. Currently, Oher is pursuing a […]

Introduction As a fan of all varieties of theme parks and water parks, this article from McMillan summarizing a case on the scope of patent protection for waterslide features immediately caught my attention. Section 42 of the Patent Act Under s. 42 of the Patent Act, the granting of a patent to a patentee confers […]