POP QUIZ!

POP QUIZ!

This is not a post to explore some recent IP news or to discuss anything all that sophisticated or groundbreaking. I thought this might a bit fun and a good warm up for the exam on Tuesday. This could also be a great opportunity to squeeze in some last minute participation marks. So, I invite […]

Trivial or not trivial?

Trivial or not trivial?

One historical copyright case that I was familiar with prior to this course was centered around the theft of trivia. After taking the course, I am now looking at this case with a different perspective and wonder how it would be decided under current Canadian Law. Fred Worth from California published two books of trivia. […]

“My Name Is” – Trademark within hiphop?

“My Name Is” – Trademark within hiphop?

“Murda on the Beat, so it’s not nice”, “We got London on the Track”, “Young chop on the beat”. If you have listened to popular music in the past decade, particularly hip-hop, you have likely heard recurring phrases such as these included at the start of a song. These clips are known as “producer tags” […]

Against Intellectual Property: Final Project

Against Intellectual Property: Final Project

*This post is submitted as my final project for the course* AGAINST INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY         In this essay, I argue that intellectual property (“IP”) cannot be justified by property rights alone, as it is based on artificially created scarcity. IP rights are rights to intangible things, which, by definition, cannot be scarce. […]

Four Notes

Four Notes

I was reading the following post on the class site, and it reminded me of how technically complicated musical copyright could be at times. An issue that often comes is what makes music original enough to qualify for copyright protection? In the US, I found a case that does not give an exact answer, but […]

This is a tesla, not a Tesla

This is a tesla, not a Tesla

In most Slavic languages, a tesla is a type of hammer (see main post picture). It’s great for pulling out nails and as a kid, grandma and I used teslas to plant potatoes on the farm. It’s also good for settling disputes. But can it be used in a lawsuit for IP infringement? Drumroll….: it […]

Colin v. Cuthbert: The Case of the Caterpillar Cake Copy-Cat

Colin v. Cuthbert: The Case of the Caterpillar Cake Copy-Cat

Why are these people dressed up as caterpillars? Why are they eating cake? Why are they fighting? If you are like me, you have been toiling over this mystery for several months. It has caused me many sleepless nights. I am sure you are all dying for an explanation. Luckily for you, I have investigated […]

Judge dismisses artists’ claims that AI “fed” by their works infringed copyright

Judge dismisses artists’ claims that AI “fed” by their works infringed copyright

Original article: https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/judge-pares-down-artists-ai-copyright-lawsuit-against-midjourney-stability-ai-2023-10-30/ Summary: visual artists accuse Stability AI, Midjourney and DevianArt of misusing their copyrighted works in connection with the companies’ generative artificial intelligence systems. Allegations: Stability (AI system) used billions of images “scraped” from the internet, including theirs, without permission to teach Stable Diffusion to create its own images. Outcome: judge dismissed all […]

AI wins state fair art contest, annoys humans (and bureaucrats too!)

AI wins state fair art contest, annoys humans (and bureaucrats too!)

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2023/09/us-rejects-ai-copyright-for-famous-state-fair-winning-midjourney-art/ Why bother?! Was that not the first question that came to you after reading the piece? Why was the artist trying to obtain copyright registration in the first place? For possible monetary gains? To cause an outrage? To see if he can get away with it, thus gaining notoriety? Despite appearances, most of us […]

Trade Secret Law

Trade Secret Law

Trade Secrets Hi everyone! Brandon and I were talking about things IP law might not cover. While chatting we started thinking about things like secret recipes or processes, and stumbled upon trade secrets as a branch of IP law. Looking further into it, we realized that this is both an important type of Intellectual Property […]