Copyright & Social Media
Communications Law
A very Canadian lawsuit: The Tragically Hip sue Mill Street Brewery in Toronto over their 100th Meridian Beer
I was scrolling through today’s news and came across something that is an interesting (and perhaps more compelling) Canadian complement to last week’s discussion on Taylor Swift’s Evermore trademark lawsuit. According to this CBC article and the Statement of Claim (found online), The Tragically Hip are suing a Toronto-based brewery (Mill Street Brewery) for trademark […]
California Cop Weaponizes Copyright Law to Avoid Accountability
Anyone who spends a reasonable amount of time online is probably familiar with copystrikes, the term given to a removal of (allegedly) copyrighted material from an individual’s website for an ostensible violation of copyright. “This media has been removed in response to a request from the copyright holder” isn’t an uncommon to thing while browsing […]
Brands – what are they? – chewing gums and their invented names
I was sitting at my desk zoning out when it struck me that the pack of Wrigley’s Excel gum I had in my line of vision shared the same name with Microsoft’s Excel. I wondered if there were any IP issues so I did a search on Canada’s IP database, which revealed that there were […]
“Want to Reverse Inequality? Change Intellectual Property Rules.”
I came across this interesting article about the effect of IP policies on inequality (in a US context). The author, Dean Baker, argues that terms of IP monopolies are perpetuating inequalities and causes “upward redistribution of wealth” in our society, and that there are other better ways to incentivize innovation and creativity. Baker also goes […]
Copyright issue on Instagram
So I was scrolling through Instagram, and I came across this interesting Copyright issue in this link:https://www.instagram.com/reel/CK9NP7hDNXQ/?igshid=de3r6nvunzru here is the YouTube link for it:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4c9xHqQHKs It shows how one of Winnie the Pooh’s episodes copied The Jungle Book – they have the exact same scene and it looks like it has been copied. It made me […]
Does fair dealing or public interest apply when infringing copyright of health information?
https://www.canadianlawyermag.com/practice-areas/intellectual-property/canadian-intellectual-property-office-allows-requests-for-expedited-covid-19-medical-trademarks/337322 I found this article quite interesting [and relevant to the situation we are currently in] and it raises interesting questions. Although the article talks more specifically about trademarks, consider if there was a scientific report which outlined vital information regarding practices to promote pubic health. If such a paper or textbook was covered by […]
Could Memes be infringing Copyright? “Bernie Sanders and his Marvelous Mittens…”
https://www.mondaq.com/canada/copyright/1031182/bernie-and-his-marvelous-mittens-it39s-all-good-fun-until-a-copyright-lawyer-gets-involved I thought this article was interesting, even if the heyday of the Bernie Mittens meme is already past. Personally I hadn’t considered the copyright implications of memes and to me it seems that this article does a great job of discussing the basics of what defenses one might use if challenged. It also is […]
Federal Court grants damages for copyright infringement based on an infringement report generated by antipiracy software
Hi all, this may come up in the News of the Week, but earlier last week the Federal Court granted damages on an ex parte motion for default judgement based on “Infringement Reports” generated by SmartFlow through their built-in antipiracy products. This article by Bereskin & Parr provides a good summary of the case (linked below), […]
IP Issues in Bullet Tip Design
Bullet Tip Presentation
How can small (black-owned) businesses protect themselves from “predatory” trademark practices?
Hello everyone, I came across a really interesting article earlier this week that I thought I would share. I’m sure we’ve all heard about instances where black content creators — whether they be artists, fashion designers, musicians, etc. — have had their work stolen by larger companies or personalities. This article is an interview with one […]