I was on Twitter and came across lex.page, a supposed AI word processor that is soon to be released. According to a blog by Francesco D’Alessio, lex.page “is a web-based AI writing tool that helps you generate content quickly and easily. It uses machine learning to understand your writing style and then generates new content […]

1. Introduction This paper examines industrial design protection in Denmark and Canada, reviewing a case from each country involving infringement action against similar, but not identical designs. 2. Copyright protection of Industrial Designs in Denmark The Danish Copyright Act The Danish Copyright Act (in Danish Ophavsretsloven, LBK nr 1144 af 23/10/2014) provides protection for applied […]

Many of you may have seen alcohol brand inspired dog toys, such as “White Paw”, “Barkardi” and “Bad Spaniel”. While, I find such dog toys humorous, Jack Daniels does not, and we will soon find out whether the U.S. Supreme Court Agrees. The U.S. Supreme Court  will decide whether parody dog toy, “Bad Spaniels”, is entitled […]

I just saw this short news release and thought it might be of interest. Patagonia Sues Gap Article The suit is related to the Gap allegedly copying Patagonia’s “iconic” flap pocket on its fleece jackets. The short article specifically discusses goodwill and confusion, including an example of a customer genuinely being confused.

I enjoyed the velcro video we watched in class and I was trying to think of other such examples, beyond things such as kleenex, xerox, and rollerblades discussed in class. One day, on my way to playing spikeball, a game involving a small trampoline-like thing and a ball, I was thinking of how spikeball potentially […]

Currently, one of Tik Tok’s most popular sounds is a song by the artists Oliver Tree and Robin Shultz entitled “Miss You”. Or is it? This song is actually a remixed version of a song by Southstarr entitled “Miss You”, which is a remix of the song “Jerk” by Oliver Tree.  In essence, its a […]

Hi all, I came across this classic Eddie Murphy in “Coming to America”.  Judging on how confident the restaurant owner was in proclaiming his brilliance, you would think he shelled out for some billable hours at his local IP law firm. Enjoy:) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXgx7Uzislo (IP content lasts around 1 minute)  

Twitter has successfully prevented a Singapore technology firm called VV Technology from registering a yellow hummingbird as a trademark for a mobile application. The application was filed in 2018 and was opposed by the American company, Twitter. In 2019, the principal assistant registrar ruled in favour of twitter, which led to the appeal by VV […]

In the “season” of Trademark, I decided to share this trademark controversy that happened in 2019. On June 25, 2019, Kim Kardashian revealed her new shapewear called Kimono Solutionwear which caused an uproar on Twitter. “I’ve been passionate about this for 15 years,” the reality star wrote. “Kimono is my take on shapewear and solutions […]

I thought to write on this topic after reading the following, from the Wikipedia page on the Diamond Sutra: It is also the first known creative work with an explicit public domain dedication, as its colophon at the end states that it was created “for universal free distribution” Looking into the matter, this is somewhat misleading. “It” refers not to the […]

I know Professor Festinger is probably hoping that someone will do an interpretive IP dance, and while I won’t be doing that here, this gets close! My contribution here relates to copyright and trademark issues in the creation of a hybrid kata based on two different styles of karate. For those not in the know, […]

Slides & video below… Jon

Hey everyone! I wanted to briefly discuss the various dominant theories that are used to justify the grant of intellectual property rights and some of their shortcomings. Some of these theories have been mentioned during the course. Please see the discussion below:   One of the prominent justifications for the grant of Intellectual Property rights […]

Our introductory lesson into trademarks really got me thinking about ordinary marks and signs. In reflecting I turned to none other than Apple, a company who is notorious for having unique “signs.” As an aside, I was doing some quick research and came across Apple’s own (as they make clear “non-exhaustive”) trademark list. I encourage […]