Copyright & Social Media
Communications Law
admin
Trademarking Your Face: The New Frontier Against Deepfakes?
AI: An Acute Issue? Trademarks traditionally serve a commercial function by allowing a person to distinguish their goods or services from those of others.[1] However, amidst the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, and the resultant proliferation of deepfakes,[2] could trademarks emerge as a potential safeguard against the unauthorized exploitation of one’s physical likeness? English television […]
The World of Intellectual Proper(kit)ty
For my project, I chose to look into something I’m truly passionate about: cats. But Tyleigh, isn’t this all a little millennial cringe? Yes, but consider this a palate cleanser from all the very serious, real world problems going on. Instructions for Viewing Presentation Link: https://www.canva.com/design/DAG75lu26AU/hwQ6-HgHBQh3rD65SKi5cg/view?utm_content=DAG75lu26AU&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=uniquelinks&utlId=h696852ee1f ——— References, Organized by Topic: Grumpy Cat PUMA Deadmau5/Meowingtons […]
Stories within Stories – Who Owns the Copyright?
Term project by Dylan Nouri Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) is my favourite movie of all time. The 2015 Best Picture winner features Riggan Thomson, a washed-up Hollywood actor who used to play the titular Birdman in a series of exciting, but superficial, action movies back in the 90s. Decades later, in an […]
Trademarking Taste: An Untapped Frontier?
On June 17th of 2025, a swath of significant amendments to Canada’s Trademarks Act entered into force, quite literally going as far as to change the definition a trademark. Out was any reference to a distinguishing guise, and in was a definition of Trademark including “a sign or combination of signs that is used […]
NFTs and Copyright: Is Blockchain Possession Creative Ownership?
Over the last decade, we have seen a revolution on the internet. Particularly, now more than ever, people have begun to embrace digital assets, from Bitcoin and cryptocurrency tokens to NFTs (non-fungible tokens). According to Zimmerman and Giddens, an NFT can be understood as a digital certificate associated with specific rights in an asset. They […]
In space, no one can hear you leak trade secrets.
In our classes we’ve learned that the patent bargain forms the foundational concept for the protection of inventions. A patent is described as a “bargain” because the patent does not unilaterally favour the inventor, instead it is a mutually beneficial arrangement between the inventor and the public. Under this bargain, the inventor receives a 20-year […]
Rolling the Dice on IP: The 2023 D&D Crisis and Canadian Copyright Law
In early 2023, Wizards of the Coast (WotC), owner of Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), attempted a highly controversial revision of their foundational Open Game License (OGL). This move sparked a major intellectual property controversy, threatening two decades of independent publishing built on the original OGL 1.0a. The leaked draft triggered a backlash, highlighting critical questions […]
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 […]
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 […]
Controversy at the U.S. Federal Duck Stamp Competition: A Case for Copyright in Composition?
We know that a painting attracts copyright protection, but there is no copyright in a particular pose, arrangement, or composition (in the artistic sense). This is for good reason, of course, or else we would probably have long run out of colours, subjects, and settings to depict in art. But this reminded me of a […]