Copyright & Social Media
Communications Law
Subway v Budway: Missed Opportunity to Develop the Doctrine of Initial Interest Confusion
This summer, I was driving down Clark drive when I saw what I believed to be the Subway logo on a store front; however, upon closer inspection, I realized the logo said “Budway”. I googled “Budway” and discovered it was a cannabis store. I wondered how Budway could be getting away with such a blatant […]
Week 9: Slides & Video, November 15, 2021
Video & slides below… Jon
Are Paparazzi Pictures Weaponized Copyright?
https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2021-10-05/lisa-rinna-paparazzi-lawsuit Hey everyone, It was fascinating to read this article yesterday, especially in light of the discussion we had in class about Emily Ratajkowski’s re-publishing of paparazzi images, which I considered to be particularly relevant. It has been reported that Lisa Rinna is being sued for publishing paparazzi images of herself to her social media […]
Week 8: Slides & Video, November 8, 2021
Slides & video below… Jon
To Zell With It: How Canada’s Forgotten Brand is Being Fought Over
Hi everyone, I came across an article this week that I thought was particularly interesting following our recent discussions in class on the temporal element of trademarks and their “use it or lose it” nature. In mid-October, it was announced that Hudson’s Bay is suing the “Moniz” family in Quebec over using the “Zellers” brand […]
Week 7: Slides & Video, November 1, 2021
Slides & video below…. Jon
Charitable Retransmission?
Hey everyone, I came across this article today and I found it interesting after just covering the section on s.31(2) and Bell Canada v 1325030 Ontario https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/locast-copyright-1235007484/ Locast was a video streaming service directed at “cord cutters.” Locast advertised itself as a non-profit organization that provided users with online access to broadcast television stations. CBS, […]
Week 6: Slides & Video, October 25, 2021
Video & slides below…Unfortunately there is a disconcerting humm in the background audio as the room volume was inadvertently set set too high. Jon
Week 5: Slides & Video, October 18, 2021
Video & slides below… Jon
Olivia Rodrigo vs Paramore
Most of you are likely familiar with this already, but I just wanted to share an interesting and fairly recent music-industry copyright issue that arose between the singer Olivia Rodrigo and the band Paramore. The songs at issue here are Rodrigo’s “Good 4 U” and Paramore’s “Misery Business.” I’ve hyperlinked the songs on YouTube. After […]