Pitched as “Pokemon with guns”, Palworld is the hottest game of the new year. While it has garnered immense commercial success, having sold 5 million copies in just a matter of days, many have accused the developer Pocketpair of going a step further and ripping off the designs of some Pokemon. Take a look at […]

Slides & video below…

For anyone who missed this last month….a quirky case of copyright infringement regarding fanfiction writing: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/dec/18/copyright-claim-against-tolkien-estate-backfires-on-lord-of-the-rings-fanfiction-author

In case some folks weren’t aware, Apple has gotten themselves into a patents dispute with a medical tech company named Masimo. The dispute has to do with the watches ability to read blood-oxygen levels, which allegedly belongs to Masimo. While the watches with this feature are still available for purchase in Canada, sales have been […]

Slides & video below…  

Slides & video from my opening talk into an empty Allard room. Thanks everyone for being so understanding. The class is approximately 50 minutes long.

A federal judge in the United States has dismissed a lawsuit against Aritzia that accused the retailer of copying an artist’s work with hot pink, squiggle-shaped sculptures that appeared in stores in early 2023. Here is the link to the initial lawsuit made by Richard X Zawitz, the owner of Tangle Creations posted by pr1ncess.

I hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday. I couldn’t resist posting this link and photo. https://vancouversun.com/business/local-business/arcteryx-wins-court-injunction-against-adidas-terrex-kitsilano-store-in-trademark-spat With a result that should surprise no one, Arc’teryx has received an injunction against Adidas Terrex. Checkout the photo caption! Confusion indeed! Enjoy the last few days of holidays all!  

It should come as no surprise that rights holders of video games often go after those who modify their games or release fangames. However, I rarely see these lawsuits go beyond a DMCA notice and the other party following said notice. Most of the time, the potentially infringing party complies with the DMCA, and you […]

  I felt like posting this saga once enough time passed when an anime restoration and archiving company closed down and had to figure out what to do with thousands of anime film masters or destroy them. Few companies are capable of storing film masters, and Tokyo Lab was one such company. Film Masters are […]

Hi all, Here’s another PechaKucha presentation! This one’s on some practical ways to protect IP through personal IP stories, including my own. (I did another PechaKucha on NILs in the context of US college sports so if you’re curious about that, its a few posts back.) To access the presentation via Google Slides, click the […]

In a plot twist more dramatic than an iPhone launch, Apple is hitting the pause button on sales for its Series 9 and Ultra 2 Apple Watches in the U.S.   Why? Glad you asked. Well, it turns out the cool blood oxygen sensor, the heartbeat of Apple’s smartwatches, has caused a not-so-healthy legal commotion. […]

Fanfiction refers to creative fiction produced by fans of a particular original work that derives from its characters, plot, settings, or themes. Fanworks are characterized by their transformative nature as creative reinterpretations and expansions upon the original source material. They are non-commercial in nature, crafted out of a genuine love for the source content and […]

You have heard about authors suing fanfiction writers, you have heard about authors suing ChatGPT, but have you ever heard of fanfiction writers suing authors?   In a rather bizarre case, Demetrious Polychron, an avid fan of the Lord of the Rings franchise, decided to sue the Tolkien Estate and Amazon for alleged copyright infringement […]

Posting this for any fans of Kitchen Nightmares who want to see an example of how trademarking can go wrong. Apparently in Baltimore the endearing term ‘Hon’ (short for honey) is very popular. This led one local café owner to trademark the name of her café, “Café Hon”. She also threatened to sue other people […]