Copyright & Social Media
Communications Law
AI-Generated Content Creation: A Dog, a Cat, and Several Unholy Hybrids
Social media platforms have, for many years, relied upon tools which track digital fingerprinting, conduct metadata analyses, and do advanced pattern recognition to critically analyse altered content for copyright infringement. With AI’s rapid advancements in visual product-generation, it seems easier than ever to appropriate copyrighted content to create high-quality derivative works which can undermine the […]
Can a Broader Interpretation of “Genre” Save Movies?
In the last couple decades, “Hollywood” and the broader film industry have undergone rapid changes, including in the popularity (or lack-thereof) of the movie-going experience, the market of movie studios, and the types of movies being made. These broad changes have led to two different monopolizations within the industry. First, a monopolization of movie studios […]
Trademarking Taste: An Untapped Frontier?
On June 17th of 2025, a swath of significant amendments to Canada’s Trademarks Act entered into force, quite literally going as far as to change the definition a trademark. Out was any reference to a distinguishing guise, and in was a definition of Trademark including “a sign or combination of signs that is used […]
Nintendo of America v King: The Crystallization of Digital Copyright Enforcement in Canada
Term Paper by Shaan Lail Generated image using Gemini During this term, we learned about technological protection measures [TPMs] and how those who manufacture, import, distribute, offer for sale/rental, or provide any technology, device or component may be liable if the primary purpose is circumvention of a TPM. Nintendo of America v King, 2017 FC […]
When an Instrument Becomes a Work of Art: The Swiss “Hang” Case Through a Canadian IP Lens
1. Copyright, Design, and the Shape of Sound In intellectual property (IP) law, the boundaries between different forms of protection are not always clear-cut. Copyright traditionally safeguards creative expression, whereas industrial design regimes focus on the visual appearance of manufactured products. When an object serves a practical function while also embodying distinctive aesthetic qualities, it […]
Rolling the Dice on IP: The 2023 D&D Crisis and Canadian Copyright Law
In early 2023, Wizards of the Coast (WotC), owner of Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), attempted a highly controversial revision of their foundational Open Game License (OGL). This move sparked a major intellectual property controversy, threatening two decades of independent publishing built on the original OGL 1.0a. The leaked draft triggered a backlash, highlighting critical questions […]
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 […]