Copyright & Social Media
Communications Law
Harvard Mouse – Epic Rap Battle Ver.
Term Project by Michelle Lee The link to the video is at the bottom. A few weeks ago, I learned that in 2003, a defamation suit was brought against the rapper Eminem by his childhood bully for allegedly slandering him in the song “Brain Damage”. The judge gave a ruling in the form of rap. […]
The Dirt on Clean Beauty
Aarthi Kamatchinathan’s Term Paper Introduction In recent years, the beauty industry has undergone a significant transformation, with consumers increasingly prioritizing ingredient transparency over brand prestige or packaging appeal. This shift has been driven in part by the rise of the “clean girl aesthetic,” a TikTok trend that emphasizes a natural, minimalist and health-focused approach to […]
Toward Computational Copyright in AI Image Generation: Legal Limits, Technical Challenges, and a Path Forward
Term Paper by Renwen Xia The rapid rise of generative AI, especially in image creation through diffusion models, has exposed the deep inadequacies of current copyright law, which remains trapped in a binary framework of infringement or fair dealing. Here I will explore the legal and technical challenges of this landscape and propose a computational […]
New TikTok IP Rules: Is This the End of Fan Edits?
While scrolling through TikTok the other day, I got a notification about upcoming changes to the platform’s intellectual property policies, set to take effect on April 26, 2025. Naturally, this got me thinking—what does this mean for creators? From what I can tell, TikTok is looking to more strictly enforce its existing copyright rules, which […]
Patent Pending?
While I was getting my morning coffee today before my Administrative Law exam, I noticed a “patent pending” notice on Starbucks’ automatic espresso machine (I think!). The Patent Act in Canada does not require an article to be marked as patented, and as such, it has no legal effect (Government of Canada). Therefore, I decided […]
Copyright in Clothing? Rights and Remedies in Fashion IP
Term Assignment by Maria Liu The fashion industry is a complex area where IP law protection is important but less defined than in traditional art industries. In fashion, trademarks play a greater role than copyright, which usually protects literary, music, and other artistic works. Copyright generally does not extend to functional items like clothing but […]
Sweet Deception? The Intellectual Property Implications of Dubai Chocolate
Term Paper by Jessica Goodridge If you are a food lover like me, or are active on any form of social media, I am sure you have heard of the viral confection called “Dubai chocolate.” Dubai chocolate refers to a milk chocolate bar containing pistachio filling and kadayif, a Middle Eastern crispy phyllo dough. It […]
Copyright law professors going against Meta
In yet another battle with the use of copyrighted materials to train AI models, I came across this interesting news article[1], which caught my attention about copyright law professors in the US submitting an amicus brief[2] in support of authors suing Meta in the case of Richard Kadrey, et al. v. Meta Platforms, Inc. for […]
Hey Raymond, Can I Copyright That?
Hello everyone, Welcome to my short, “Hey Raymond, Can I Copyright That? In this 10 minute movie, you will find reference to the Copyright Act R.S.C (1985) C-42. I explore the question of “Hey Raymond, Can I Copyright That?” through 5 scenarios: sports move, fashion, artistic work, musical piece and literary piece. Each vignette holds […]
Pokemon Case Settled
I was reading recent news update from earlier this month and saw that Pokemon has settled its lawsuit against an alleged copycat mobile game maker Pocket Monster: Remake. In September, the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court ruled in favour of The Pokémon Company, ordering the defendants to pay ¥107m ($15m) for unfair competition. This is still […]