IPKat: The UK’s New Consultation on AI and Copyright: Purr-suing Balance?

Hi all, I came across an interesting read on the IPKat website and it made me think “News of the Week” Find the Post here: https://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2024/12/guest-post-newsflash-uks-new.html
The Biggest Trade in Sports History

During stressful times (like the past two weeks…), I often find myself unwinding with the lovable cast of Inside the NBA. For the uninitiated, this long-running, critically acclaimed basketball analysis show aired on TNT, hosted by the steady Ernie Johnson alongside Kenny Smith, a two-time NBA champion with the mid-90s Houston Rockets; Shaquille O’Neal, whose […]
Birkin up the Wrong Tree?: NFTs & Trademark Protection

For my final project, I will examine a trademark infringement case about NFTs and its potential implications on Canadian IP law. What are NFTs? Non-fungible tokens, commonly known as NFTs, are digital tokens with a unique, one-of-one identifier distinguishing them from any other blockchain token. In recent years, NFTs have blossomed as novel digital assets. […]
UnitedHealthcare and DMCA

Seems to be a hot topic these days. The killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO, Brian Thompson, certainly has garnered much attention. Now, my intention is not to spark another controversial debate over this issue. In fact, I never though I would be writing anything related to this topic here, well, until I came to know about […]
Patent War in the 3D Printing World (Term Paper)

Background Three-Dimensional printing (3D printing), using fused deposition modeling (FDM), has come a long way since its inception in the late 1980s. A co-founder of Stratasys, Scott Crump, came up with the idea while layering glue using a glue-gun to make a toy.[1] Building on this idea, substitute a glue-gun with a highly precise temperature […]
Understanding ‘Brat’: Charli XCX, Copyright Law, and TikTok Dances

This project was prepared by Mariam Zaidi and Mckenna Seebach (Listen to the album while you read our post: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmGw-DBcP98!) What is “brat”? Charli XCX’s latest album “brat” stands entirely separate from her past albums. It was embedded into a campaign for the US presidential election and inspired a new cultural language, among many other […]
[Term Paper] A Legal ComPLEXity

Introduction Upon Netflix’s entrance to the market and subsequent dominance, steaming was heralded as the killer of television and movie piracy.[1] Its ease of use, relatively low cost, and wide library of titles led many to believe that pirating content was simply not worth the hassle or risk (of legal action or malware). However, as […]
Nintendo v Palworld: Global Implications for Patent Law (Term Paper)

INTRODUCTION During this term, we have touched on international agreements related to copyright and trademark law, which allow intellectual property owners to protect and enforce their rights across multiple jurisdictions. These agreements enable creators to easily and effectively safeguard their works in countries that are party to the agreements. [1] However, a major gap exists […]
Parody and Trademarks

It’s an oldie, but a goodie. Our discussions throughout this term reminded me of comedian Nathan Fielder’s decade-old stunt exemplifying the use of parody in trademarks. In it, Fielder created a coffee shop called “Dumb Starbucks Coffee”, serving its customers “Dumb Frappuccinos” with extra shots of “Dumb Espresso”. As Fielder alleges in the embedded video, […]
You Belong With Me: Reclaiming Copyright Ownership

Introduction On June 30, 2019, Taylor Swift announced that Big Machine Label Group (BMLG), her former record label, had sold the master recordings of her first six albums to Scooter Braun. In a candid Tumblr post, Taylor expressed her frustration and heartbreak over losing control of her life’s work, describing the situation as her “worst-case […]
Trademark Law and the Metaverse: What we know so far

In Mark Zuckerberg’s 2021 letter, he imagined a world where “in the metaverse, you’ll be able to do almost anything you can imagine – get together with friends and family, work, learn, play, shop, create”. Key emphasis on shop. In October 2024, Nike was granted trademark protection in Canada for virtual goods “for use online […]
AI Indexing

Hey Guys! I came across this interesting post about AI indexing on X and I think it’s worth reading..
Muerto Mouse: Disney’s Monopoly over Intellectual Property Law

Introduction Coco is my favourite Disney movie. When I learned we could choose any topic for this project, my mind immediately went to the film—I was touched by the story of Miguel Rivera, a young boy living in the fictional town of Santa Cecilia, Mexico, trying to balance his love for music and his family’s […]
IP Sanctions?!

First of all I hope everyone’s exams went well and any exams that are still left will go well too! As we have talked in class a lot about analyzing what is copyrightable/trademarkable, infringements etc., I thought it would be interesting to bring a new angle into IP law and assess how it can be (and […]
From Prompts to Profits: How AI is Ghostwriting the Future

We’ve always been discussing AI in this class, and I recently had an experience that left me both fascinated and concerned and made me want to share my thoughts. I was in a WeChat group chat with some Chinese entrepreneurs who were discussing their AI products. One product, in particular, caught my attention: it compiles multiple AI models together to create a coherent system that […]