Copyright & Social Media
Communications Law
Junior Sports Associations: Trademark and Copyright Considerations
Amateur sports teams have long used designs reminiscent of professional franchises, yet legal challenges arising from such use appear relatively rare. A 2018 article describing a youth lacrosse team’s use of a Vancouver Canucks trademark, resulting in legal intervention, prompted me to consider what made this situation different. Why can some youth organizations use similar […]
So I Wrote A Song About Copyright…
A big question we have asked ourselves in this IP class is “Who owns the copyright in an AI work?” It is a question that not only we—but courts and governments across the world have been struggling to answer. For my project I decided to write a song about copyright, and specifically, the different ways […]
Modern Day Preston v Lucas
Quick throwback to Copyright law: while reviewing the class, specifically Preston v Lucas and Cinar v Robinson, I was reminded of headlines I saw earlier this year about a strikingly similar case. In this case, Dave Franco and Allison Brie, along with a production company, are being sued over the horror movie “Together” by production […]
The IP Crossword
If you’re someone who loves a good mental workout, I’ve put together a fun, brain-tickling IP Crossword packed with clues that range from definitions to landmark cases. Think of it as the perfect blend of legal geekery and puzzle-solving joy. Give it a shot, and if you find yourself stuck on a clue or two, […]
AI Voice Cloning & Artist Remedies
I came across this Instagram reel made by the producer @itsyoungcheetah. In it, he got AI to make him a topline. He made the beat (he’s a producer after all), wrote the initial lyrics for the chorus and recorded himself performing it. However, because he is not an artist (in the vocal sense) so he […]
Fake Facts and Copyright Traps
In copyright, you cannot own a fact. In our earlier classes we learned this in Maltz v Witterick, where the Federal Court held that “the use of common historical facts is not copyright infringement.” Winkler v Hendley builds on this, and further holds that an author who publishes what is said to be a nonfiction […]
Is Sports Data Copyrightable? Exploring Data Compilations in Sports Betting
It has been established in Canada that sports broadcasting is subject to copyright law, but what about the substantive data that is the product of sport? In CBC v SODRAC the Supreme Court of Canada employed a purposive construction of the Copyright Act, specifically s. 3(1)(d), holding that reproduction rights remain exclusively with the copyright […]