Psychedelics and the “Rainbow Rush”
Introduction In the time leading up to legalization of marijuana in Canada, a “green rush” swept the Toronto Stock Exchange. Money poured into companies starting up to service both the Canadian and U.S. markets. It has only been about 5 years post legalization and already there are clear signs of the impending psychedelic surge. Studies […]
Wordle Copycats & IP Law
By now, I am sure most of us have either heard of or played the daily brainteaser Wordle. The online 5-letter word game developed by Josh Wardle, a Brooklyn-based software engineer, is released daily. Players have six attempts to guess the word of the day. Simple enough. But, with any new internet craze, comes those […]
NFTs and IP in Dance Moves?
Hello everyone, I found this article describing a performance on the Ellen DeGeneres show that featured NFT animated dancers: https://decrypt.co/95735/nft-band-debuts-singer-kiesza-ellen-degeneres-show. The dance moves executed by the dancers (who are Chewbacca-like rainbow-coloured furry humanoids) are apparently stored on the blockchain. What’s interesting in the context of this course is how the artist leading the performance suggests […]
Encanto: Disney’s trademark applications
Hi everyone, I’ve been loving the movie and soundtrack of “Encanto” lately, so I thought I’d do a dive into its trademark applications to the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office). Here are a few interesting and fun facts: I found 10 separate “Disney Encanto” trademark applications. 2 are of the “stylized script”: *click […]
David v Goliath: A glimpse into a Danish case on Trademarks
Being an exchange student from Denmark I figured it would be interesting to give everyone a glimpse into Danish trademark law by looking at a case. The case will provide some insight into how trademarks are delt with in Danish law. I also find the aftermath of this specific case particularly interesting, because it shows […]
Fanfiction wars: a lesson in the difference between trademark and copyright
Yesterday, Young Adult novelist Laura Silverman tweeted that one of her candles she was selling was being taken down for Trademark infringement. Silverman’s candle, which she was selling on Etsy, had a label that read: “Go Away, I’m Reading Fanfiction.” This was allegedly an infringement on the “Harry Potter” trademark, but Silverman noted that she […]
Week 10 Slides & Video
Video & Slides below… Jon
Vancouver Entertainment Brand Allows NFT Holders to Own Their Characters: NFT as Proof of Copyright Ownership?
Here’s the article: Canadian entertainment brand allows NFT holders to own their characters (VIDEO) We previously discussed in class the unfortunate case where a crypto investment / entertainment group purchased a copy of Dune for an exorbitant price, and the fact that ownership of the book did not confer copyright. Now we have entertainment brands […]
Github Copilot: AI Generated Code and Issues of Copyright
Hi all, Here is my presentation for this class. Please let me know if you are having trouble accessing it. The presentation is on Github Copilot and the copyright implications of AI-generated code. Here is some background material regarding Github, Github Copilot, as well as the GPL licenses implicated by the use of Github Copilot […]
Leonard v Nike Inc: Board Man Doesn’t Get Paid
*Please note that I wrote this to post before class 2, so it only covers the course material from class 1 and week 2 readings: Hey everyone, the Kenrick & Co v Lawrence & Co case from our first class about a drawing of a hand reminded me of one of the most memorable copyright […]