Welcome everyone. These days IP Law is constantly in the news. On top of what now seems like the quaint problems of digital replication and social media repurposing, there is a whole new dimensionality to the challenges which A.I. poses. Whatever derivative of whichever content you wish to generate, some partially hallucinated distorted refraction is […]

Links for the week: 24th of August 2025

Links for the week: 17th of August 2025

Term Project by Michelle Lee The link to the video is at the bottom. A few weeks ago, I learned that in 2003, a defamation suit was brought against the rapper Eminem by his childhood bully for allegedly slandering him in the song “Brain Damage”. The judge gave a ruling in the form of rap. […]

Aarthi Kamatchinathan’s Term Paper Introduction In recent years, the beauty industry has undergone a significant transformation, with consumers increasingly prioritizing ingredient transparency over brand prestige or packaging appeal. This shift has been driven in part by the rise of the “clean girl aesthetic,” a TikTok trend that emphasizes a natural, minimalist and health-focused approach to […]

Term Paper by Mohammad Kiumarsi Introduction Blockchain technology and its derivative innovation—non-fungible tokens (NFTs)—have rapidly emerged as disruptive forces in the digital economy. These technologies promise decentralized recordkeeping, authentication of ownership, and enhanced digital security. Yet, despite their transformative potential, Canadian patent law struggles to accommodate their unique structures, particularly where innovation is community-driven and […]

Term Paper by Renwen Xia The rapid rise of generative AI, especially in image creation through diffusion models, has exposed the deep inadequacies of current copyright law, which remains trapped in a binary framework of infringement or fair dealing. Here I will explore the legal and technical challenges of this landscape and propose a computational […]

While scrolling through TikTok the other day, I got a notification about upcoming changes to the platform’s intellectual property policies, set to take effect on April 26, 2025. Naturally, this got me thinking—what does this mean for creators? From what I can tell, TikTok is looking to more strictly enforce its existing copyright rules, which […]

While I was getting my morning coffee today before my Administrative Law exam, I noticed a “patent pending” notice on Starbucks’ automatic espresso machine (I think!). The Patent Act in Canada does not require an article to be marked as patented, and as such, it has no legal effect (Government of Canada). Therefore, I decided […]

Term Assignment by Maria Liu The fashion industry is a complex area where IP law protection is important but less defined than in traditional art industries. In fashion, trademarks play a greater role than copyright, which usually protects literary, music, and other artistic works. Copyright generally does not extend to functional items like clothing but […]