In the spring of 1968, The Mothers of Invention released their third studio album We’re Only in It for the Money. The album contained a blend of music and satire that was already distinctive to the band’s lead songwriter and guitarist, Frank Zappa. The lyrics of the record aimed at large chunks of society, including […]

(photo from: https://www.nih.gov/about-nih/what-we-do/nih-turning-discovery-into-health/personalized-medicine) Biotechnology has been a significant area for patent applications. Who does not like the idea of anti-aging or curing cancers? The idea of personalized medicine has been around for years. It means, instead of a universal drug for a disease, the scientists analyze a patient’s personal genetic profile and make the “cocktail” […]

This paper will demonstrate how the current status quo on copyright and trademark in fashion law is detrimental to modern online small fashion brands which are wrongly seen as utilitarian rather than artistic. This applies to those which gain popularity from social media, or whose presence is mainly online or otherwise created by modern technology. […]

In this presentation post, I want to share a recent development concerning AbCellera that I came across in the news. AbCellera exploded into the biotech scene in recent years, with its involvement in antibodies against COVID-19 making a particular impression. Not only that, AbCellera is a point of pride for Vancouverites – it is a […]

I was picking up a bottle of scotch for my brother’s birthday earlier this week and I couldn’t escape comparing Scotch to the Institut National case we discussed. Of course Institut National was a case dealing with champagne and the goodwill in it. In Institut National, the facts describe how French Law provides a definition […]

After we learned about trademark infringement last week, I came across this case where Starbucks was suing a local coffee shop in India, LOL Cafe, for serving Frappucinos without their consent. Starbucks owns the mark ‘Frappucino’ and argued that LOL Cafe’s “Brownie Chips Frappucino” was dishonest and used to deceive an unwary customer.   Per […]

As an anime artist, I had the privilege of animating anime girls when I worked with a musician. He has a YouTube channel and uploads videos of improvised musical themes from video games and anime. Last year, he hit me up with a music file and an illustration. “This look good?” “Sure,” I said. “You […]

In his 2005 book, Wall and Piece, Banksy famously wrote that “copyright is for losers,” underpinning his anti-establishment stance. However, despite this claim regarding copyright, Banksy may need to use copyright infringement if he wants to prevent Guess from further using his work without his permission. Recently, Banksy has claimed that Guess has used his designs […]

Slides & video below… Jon

Have you ever wondered what the legal implications are for a band and its individual members when they decide to split up?  How do we know which band members own authorship and performance rights to the songs?  The answer may or may not be as straightforward as you initially think. During the creation process a […]

Hello all! In the spirit of the upcoming season, I wanted to share something I learned recently about copyright in Santa Claus images. It is a popular IP myth that Coca Cola owns/has copyright or trademark over popular images of Santa Claus because of their highly successful 1931 ad campaign. I actually believed this until […]

Higher life forms are generally regarded as possessing qualities and characteristics that transcend the particular genetic material of which they are composed. A person whose genetic make-up is modified by radiation does not cease to be him or herself. Likewise, the same mouse would exist absent the injection of the oncogene into the fertilized egg […]

I came across the following tweets in the past few days that really show the sophistication of today’s AI technologies: AI writing a college essay; AI grading a college essay and providing comments; AI generating a movie synopsis. Some of our classmates have posted really interesting thoughts about how copyright law could apply in relation […]

1. Introduction The use of copyrighted material is all around us in the modern technological age. A quick scroll on Tiktok (well, using my algorithm at least) reveals a barrage of ‘Tiktokers’ displaying and commentating on a variety of sports highlights or reacting to the latest heartbreak on reality television. So wide spread is the […]

I thought it was interesting to share this. I know the Canada-United States- Mexico agreement was signed in 2019 and came into force in 2020. Canada had said that it was going to have a transition period of 2 years or so to implement this. It appears that the term of life will officially become […]