Copyright & Social Media
Communications Law
Nintendo v Palworld: Global Implications for Patent Law (Term Paper)
INTRODUCTION During this term, we have touched on international agreements related to copyright and trademark law, which allow intellectual property owners to protect and enforce their rights across multiple jurisdictions. These agreements enable creators to easily and effectively safeguard their works in countries that are party to the agreements. [1] However, a major gap exists […]
Parody and Trademarks
It’s an oldie, but a goodie. Our discussions throughout this term reminded me of comedian Nathan Fielder’s decade-old stunt exemplifying the use of parody in trademarks. In it, Fielder created a coffee shop called “Dumb Starbucks Coffee”, serving its customers “Dumb Frappuccinos” with extra shots of “Dumb Espresso”. As Fielder alleges in the embedded video, […]
You Belong With Me: Reclaiming Copyright Ownership
Introduction On June 30, 2019, Taylor Swift announced that Big Machine Label Group (BMLG), her former record label, had sold the master recordings of her first six albums to Scooter Braun. In a candid Tumblr post, Taylor expressed her frustration and heartbreak over losing control of her life’s work, describing the situation as her “worst-case […]
Trademark Law and the Metaverse: What we know so far
In Mark Zuckerberg’s 2021 letter, he imagined a world where “in the metaverse, you’ll be able to do almost anything you can imagine – get together with friends and family, work, learn, play, shop, create”. Key emphasis on shop. In October 2024, Nike was granted trademark protection in Canada for virtual goods “for use online […]
AI Indexing
Hey Guys! I came across this interesting post about AI indexing on X and I think it’s worth reading..
Muerto Mouse: Disney’s Monopoly over Intellectual Property Law
Introduction Coco is my favourite Disney movie. When I learned we could choose any topic for this project, my mind immediately went to the film—I was touched by the story of Miguel Rivera, a young boy living in the fictional town of Santa Cecilia, Mexico, trying to balance his love for music and his family’s […]
IP Sanctions?!
First of all I hope everyone’s exams went well and any exams that are still left will go well too! As we have talked in class a lot about analyzing what is copyrightable/trademarkable, infringements etc., I thought it would be interesting to bring a new angle into IP law and assess how it can be (and […]
From Prompts to Profits: How AI is Ghostwriting the Future
We’ve always been discussing AI in this class, and I recently had an experience that left me both fascinated and concerned and made me want to share my thoughts. I was in a WeChat group chat with some Chinese entrepreneurs who were discussing their AI products. One product, in particular, caught my attention: it compiles multiple AI models together to create a coherent system that […]
Fair Dealing and Video Game Emulation – Assignment
Lately, I’ve been playing a lot of Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War. Fire Emblem itself is arguably Japan’s most famous tactical role-playing game franchise, with seventeen mainline entries and several spin-offs to boot.[1] However, I’m not playing the game on a console. The game was released exclusively for Japan’s Super Famicom in 1996, […]
Human Gene Patents: The Uncertain Legal Landscape in Canada and the Impact on Genetic Testing
A. From Collaboration to Monopolization In 1988, a small group of researchers from the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, France and the Netherlands joined forces to identify the gene(s) associated with predisposition to early-onset breast cancer.[1] The medical community had observed that certain families have a higher incidence of this disease than the general […]