Following discriminatory comments made in the media, many brands are cutting ties with Ye (formerly Kanye West), resulting in the severing of contractual relationships. This includes one of his most notable collaborations – Adidas. Adidas severing ties with Ye will likely have impacts on the division of intellectual property rights. An article published by Fortune […]

I think it’s fair to say that Lacoste, a French retail company, is a very well-known brand here in Canada. I remember walking by stores selling Lacoste products in malls growing up. This brand may be less familiar to some of you. I remember first coming across a Crocodile Garments store in Seoul, South Korea […]

I thought I’d share this interesting article I came across titled The Dupe Killer, Tracking Copies with AI. Dupe Killer is an intellectual property tool used by Deloitte for luxury fashion brands. The tool is used to monitor for visual design infringements by searching for copies of products based on their shape or configuration. I […]

After our lectures on passing off, I found a case that involved two fashion companies. In Original Beauty v G4K, the High Court did not find that passing off had been established. In its claim, Original Beauty, House of CB, argued that G4K, Oh Polly, copied its “get up” and misrepresented to the public that Oh […]

After our last class this morning on patents, I came across this article where Incannex Healthcare filed a patent application to protect a certain drug’s (IHL-42X) clinical program. This reminded me of our discussion today, where we learned that patents can be filed for a combination of previously patented items, so I figured I would […]

After our class today on patents, I wanted to see whether it applied to my current favourite cooking appliance, air fryers! I found the link online to one of the patents for air fryers that show the history of that patent and the photos as well. I have attached the link below: https://patents.google.com/patent/US4817509A/en Additionally, I […]

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