Since last summer, when wildfires blazed through my hometown of Kelowna, I’ve been thinking a lot about the role of the law in supporting action to mitigate climate change. And IP law has a big role to play. Decreasing global CO2 emissions will require not only mass deployment of existing clean technologies, but also the development […]

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  Background Throughout 2023, an array of artists ranging from Bad Bunny, Daddy Yankee, and Pitbull have been in a legal showdown with the progenitors of Reggaeton. Steely and Clevie (“S&C”) –– two musical producers from Jamaica –– allege that more than 150 popular artists, songwriters and record companies have used their copyrighted works without permission. […]

I was reading the following post on the class site, and it reminded me of how technically complicated musical copyright could be at times. An issue that often comes is what makes music original enough to qualify for copyright protection? In the US, I found a case that does not give an exact answer, but […]

A few months ago, an Instagram account that looked like supermodel Kendall Jenner popped up on my feed and introduced herself as Billie. At first I was confused about this, wondering if it was a new advertisement or brand deal that Jenner was participating in. Wanting to know more, I clicked on the account to […]

In most Slavic languages, a tesla is a type of hammer (see main post picture). It’s great for pulling out nails and as a kid, grandma and I used teslas to plant potatoes on the farm. It’s also good for settling disputes. But can it be used in a lawsuit for IP infringement? Drumroll….: it […]

Why are these people dressed up as caterpillars? Why are they eating cake? Why are they fighting? If you are like me, you have been toiling over this mystery for several months. It has caused me many sleepless nights. I am sure you are all dying for an explanation. Luckily for you, I have investigated […]

There is a growing trend on the internet to use AI Image Generators to make memes. One prominent meme format is to have a movie poster generated in a style that resembles Disney Pixar posters. Many of these generated posters are intended to be offensive while prominently displaying the Disney Pixar logo, due to Disney’s […]

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The MIT Review released an article discussing Nightshade, a tool for artists to protect their images from web scraping. The research was conducted by Ben Zhao’s team at the University of Chicago. Nightshade was created as a tool that artists can use to stand up against AI companies that use images to train models without […]

  One of the fundamental tenets of trademark law is to safeguard consumers. Trademarks are a type of intellectual property consisting of a word, phrase, symbol, logo, design, or expression distinguishing products or services from others and identifying their source.[1] For fashion brands, the use of trademarks endows “customer loyalty and generates commercial value”, thereby […]

As a fan of video games, one of the benefits to gaming on PC rather than on console is the freedom to “mod” the games. Modding is when fans create assets or software which change an aspect of the game, such as its appearance or mechanics. For example, one of my personal favourites is the […]

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