Articles

About Articles The below articles are published by the Entertainment, Media and Communications Law Section of the Ontario Bar Association. Members are encouraged to submit articles. About Articles

Editor: Alessia Monastero

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Today

How to Grab the Attention of Creative Clients Who Aren’t Interested in the Law

  • December 11, 2023
  • Jordan Narod

While working with clients in the creative industry who actually take part in the creative process, such as artists, writers and musicians, there is often a slight aversion to engaging with the law or directing legal decisions. Here are five points to perk up the ears of your creative client.

Entertainment, Media and Communications Law, Student Forum

New California Bill Tackles Environmental Impact of Fast Fashion

  • December 11, 2023
  • Shayna Jan

In recent years, the rise of social media and the prevalence of influencer marketing has created an oversaturation of tastemakers and microtrends. Many fast fashion brands capitalize on these trends and mass-produce products at a rapid pace. Once these items go out of style and there is no longer any demand, the clothing is then discarded.

Entertainment, Media and Communications Law, Student Forum

Corporate Responsibility in the Deployment of Facial Recognition Technology: Prioritizing Transparency and Accountability

  • May 02, 2023
  • Moushmi Mehta & Yonida Koukio

Facial recognition technology has become increasingly popular among businesses for various applications, including security, marketing, and customer service. However, with the widespread adoption of this technology, there are growing concerns over its potential impact on privacy, human rights, and data protection.

Entertainment, Media and Communications Law, Privacy Law, Student Forum

Personality Rights of Dead Celebrities in Canada and Who Owns Them?

  • February 13, 2023
  • Govind K Chaturvedi

Personality rights of deceased celebrities have been the subject of debate for many years due to the continued popularity of these individuals beyond their death. Recently, two events have sparked renewed discussions on the matter. These events raise ethical and legal issues related to publicity, privacy, and intellectual property. This article will explore these issues through the lens of prior case law.

Entertainment, Media and Communications Law, Student Forum, Information Technology and Intellectual Property Law

Deepfakes: Whose Personality is it Anyway?

  • November 07, 2022
  • Christopher Tsuji

Hollywood-esque special effects that allow anyone to become any person with the click of a few buttons: this is the reality of deepfakes. Deepfakes are a form of technology that uses artificial intelligence (“AI”) to allow a person to impersonate someone else’s appearance and voice. A person only needs a phone or a computer, and an image or video of the desired target.

Entertainment, Media and Communications Law, Student Forum, Information Technology and Intellectual Property Law

Canadian Copyright Law: Does Digitally Restoring Public Domain Films Revive Copyright?

  • June 10, 2022
  • Erin Moskal

This article explores how, if at all, digitizing and/or restoring a film is treated under copyright law in Canada. More specifically, if the film in the public domain and copyright has expired, is the digital restoration of the film result in a copyright in the digitally restored version?

Entertainment, Media and Communications Law, Student Forum

Made-in-Canada Incentives to Convert Innovation to IP Rights

  • June 10, 2022
  • Noel Courage, partner, Bereskin & Parr LLP,

In acknowledgement of International IP Day on April 26, this article will address some examples of focused government initiatives that are being taken in Canada to help financially support IP protection. This is not a comprehensive survey, just highlighting some bright spots that lawyers should be aware of for their clients.

Entertainment, Media and Communications Law, Student Forum

Bill C-11’s Foundational Faults, Part Two: The Regulate-It-All Approach of Treating All Audio-Visual Content as a “Program”

  • March 25, 2022
  • Michael Geist

My first post on Bill C-11 focused on the virtually limitless reach of the CRTC’s jurisdictional power over audio-visual services. The expansive approach in Bill C-11 isn’t limited to its jurisdictional reach, however. Not only does the law have few limits with respect to which services are regulated, it is similarly over-broad with respect to what is regulated, featuring definitions that loop all AV content into the law by treating all AV content as a “program” subject to potential regulation.

Entertainment, Media and Communications Law, Student Forum

No Liability for Infringing Comparative Advertising

  • March 18, 2022
  • May M. Cheng

The Quebec Court of Appeal decision in Constellation Brands US Operations Inc. v. Société de vin internationale ltée 2021 QCCA 1664 has received a lot of attention for its discussion of when comparative advertising constitutes infringement and whether comparative advertising can depreciate goodwill. However, the case is noteworthy for its consideration of the court’s discretion to refuse to grant an accounting of profits after having found infringement, and this merits more discussion.

Entertainment, Media and Communications Law, Student Forum