Copyright & Social Media
Communications Law
NFTs, Blockchain, and Patent Law: Rethinking Innovation Incentives for Decentralized Technologies
Term Paper by Mohammad Kiumarsi Introduction Blockchain technology and its derivative innovation—non-fungible tokens (NFTs)—have rapidly emerged as disruptive forces in the digital economy. These technologies promise decentralized recordkeeping, authentication of ownership, and enhanced digital security. Yet, despite their transformative potential, Canadian patent law struggles to accommodate their unique structures, particularly where innovation is community-driven and […]
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 […]
AI & Fair Dealing: Thomson Reuters v Ross Intelligence
If you have been, much like I, keenly awaiting Thomson Reuters v Ross Intelligence’s threequel and have been, much like I, disappointed not to have received such a threequel in time for the exam, this post is for you! No, Ross’s appeal has not been heard, but I don’t come begging completely empty handed; what I […]
‘Ghiblifying’ and Copyright
If like me, you’ve been spending a little too much time on social media in the past week, you’ve probably come across the new trend of using ChatGPT to ‘Ghiblify’ a photo. Since OpenAI’s new image-generation tools were launched last week, users have been prompting ChatGPT to recreate their photos in ‘Studio Ghibli style’. Studio […]
Amazon Prime Video uses AI to bring epic scenes to life in “House of David”
I stumbled upon this article and video over the weekend and thought it was interesting and relevant to our discussions in class. In the video, creator and co-show runner of Amazon Prime Video’s House of David, Jon Erwin, discusses how the studio used AI technology in 73 VFX shots (out of 850 total!) for the […]
Murals, Graffiti, and the Law: Art on the Edge
Introduction Street art contributes significantly to the cultural and visual identity of urban landscapes. It encompasses a wide range of works. This paper will focus on two types of street art: murals and graffiti. While the first is typically commissioned or created with the permission of the property owner, city, or organization, the latter is often unauthorized and done without permission, making it a […]
Qualcomm may no Longer be Allowed to use ARM IP to Design CPUs
Qualcomm is an American company that designs CPUs. ARM is a British company that licenses off-the-shelf CPU core designs to other manufacturers. Unlike the x86 architecture designed by Intel that is featured in virtually all modern desktops and laptops, ARM-based CPU designs are low power and are widely used in smartphones, cars, and the burgeoning […]