Copyright & Social Media
Communications Law
An overview of sampling
Hi everyone! There have been some questions about samples, so I decided to write this piece that touches upon use and history of sampling, and also considers why copyright owners don’t sue more frequently over the use of samples. Defining “samples” Samples are short pieces of recorded music or sounds that can be inserted into […]
EDM Video with Live Sampling
IMG_9742 Hi everyone! Hope you’re all enjoying reading break. I wanted to share this video I took last Friday night at an EDM concert. In the clip, Timmy Trumpet is sampling a song by David Guetta, which is in turn itself sampling a song by Eiffel 65. It reminded me of our discussion last class […]
Using copyrighted images to train AI
This lawsuit was briefly mentioned in last week’s news of the week and has particular relevance to what we’re currently covering in class. Getty images is currently suing Stability AI, an AI based image generator, alleging they copied 12 million images belonging to Getty to train it’s AI model. This case is particularly interesting to […]
ChatGPT creating content for BuzzFeed
Hi everyone! I recently came across an article that discussed how BuzzFeed will be creating some of its content using ChatGPT. The use of AI technology for content creation seems to be in its early stage, and BuzzFeed’s CEO said that the company is currently looking to use it for limited purpose – to generate […]
IP Infringements, Activism & Harm to Equity-Seeking Communities”
Hi everyone, This week I’ve been thinking about the intersections between IP protections and activism as well as how infringements to such IP can cause real harm to marginalized communities. I remembered a chat I had with an associate at a large Vancouver firm who was discussing taking on a pro-bono case to represent the […]
Historical figures with no photos: Can we get protections on images created of them?
Hi everyone! I wanted to share an interesting article on whether someone’s face could be a trademark. Specifically, I was intrigued by the issue of whether there is trademark for figurative signs representing how historical figures might have looked like. When I watch TV shows or movies situated in an era far back in time, […]
MILEY VS. BRUNO – The Musical World of IP Confuses Me Again
Hey everyone! I’m really looking forward to how this class will help me crack the confusing code that is the music industry. 9 months ago, I remember seeing an article about how Ed Sheeran “pre-emptively suing Sami Chokri and Ross O’Donoghue in 2018” asking the court to declare that he (with his song Shape of […]
New on West 4th Avenue – Arc'”TERREX”?
Hey everyone! I just came across this article which reminded of something interesting that I saw while walking to the bus stop the other day. If you’ve passed between Vine St. and Yew St. on 4th Ave lately, you’ve probably seen a bunch of trees lined up in an elaborate marketing campaign for the […]
Dungeons & Dragons: Community Backlash at New Licensing Plans
Hey Everyone! This is something interesting that has unfolded over the past week or so, and is consequential for anyone interested in D&D or Tabletop in general. An article by CNBC explains how Wizards of the Coast (the owners of the D&D franchise) have walked back their plans to update the OGL (Open Game License): […]
IP Law Spring 23: A Welcome
Welcome to a new semester of IP Law at Allard. Very much looking forward to learning with all of you. Because there is seemingly so much going on in the IP world every-day, it is pretty safe to predict that there will be a few interesting events that intercede during our semester together. What will […]