Articles 2021

Today
Today

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

Gucci’s Loss is Parodys’ Gain: CUGGL found not similar to GUCCI

  • November 07, 2022
  • Pankhuri Malik, Osgoode LLM graduate, IPilogue writer and IP Innovation Clinic Fellow

Last month, Gucci found itself on the losing side of a trademark battle in Japan. The Italian luxury goods company had been in an ongoing dispute with the brand Parodys, owned by Nobuaki Korukawa. Kurokawa makes t-shirts with parodies of famous brands like Chanel, Balenciaga, Adidas and of course, Gucci.

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

Assessing Patentable Subject Matter: A (Potential) New Framework

  • November 07, 2022
  • Steffi Tran, Deeth Williams Wall LLP

In recent years, the CIPO has received criticism for its approach in claim construction, particularly in the context of assessing the patentability of computer-implemented inventions. It has been especially difficult for patent applications involving computer-implemented inventions to overcome CIPO’s “problem-solution” approach, as CIPO examiners have generally deemed computer elements as non-essential, often resulting in the rejection of such inventions on grounds of ineligible subject matter.

Student Forum, Information Technology and Intellectual Property Law

Get to Know Your Execs in Five Minutes (or less) – Part II

  • November 07, 2022
  • Yonida Koukio

In this ongoing series, we will profile each of the members of the OBA IP/ IT Law Section Executive to learn about them in five minutes or less. It’s five minutes or less because we know that a lot of you docket in six minute increments!

Student Forum, Information Technology and Intellectual Property Law

Get to Know Your Execs in Five Minutes (or less) – Part I

  • November 07, 2022
  • Jenny Thistle

In this ongoing series, we will profile each of the members of the OBA IP/ IT Law Section Executive to learn about them in five minutes or less. It’s five minutes or less because we know that a lot of you docket in six-minute increments!

Student Forum, Information Technology and Intellectual Property Law

Now We Know It Works: A New Special Advantage for Selection Patents

  • September 29, 2022
  • Adil Abdulla

In the pharmaceutical industry, patentees occasionally find new uses for patented drugs. In those cases, courts have long held that they can obtain new patents on subsets of their old patents – called “selection patents” – if those subsets have “special advantages” not disclosed in the old patents. But what happens if the patentee doesn’t find a new use, but finds that a subset is more effective for its original uses?

Student Forum, Information Technology and Intellectual Property Law
Photos of authors Roland Hung and Ida Sherkat

No Coffee Breaks from Privacy Compliance - A Cautionary Tale for App Developers

  • July 11, 2022
  • Roland Hung and Ida Sherkat, Torkin Manes LLP

Mobile applications have become synonymous with organizations’ outreach initiatives. The recent joint investigation by federal and provincial privacy authorities into the Tim Hortons app emphasizes the need for companies to consider Canadian privacy laws when designing their apps.

Student Forum, Information Technology and Intellectual Property Law
Photo of authors Jennifer Davidson and Steffi Tran

Who Are You? Understanding Digital Identity: A Primer for Legal Professionals

  • May 11, 2022
  • Jennifer Davidson and Steffi Tran, Deeth Williams Wall LLP

Digital identification (“Digital ID”) is evolving the way we verify ourselves in the online world. Following other jurisdictions, Canada is currently adopting its own Digital ID strategy, with provinces like Ontario working on policies in the space. However, Digital ID may be accompanied by novel challenges that legal professionals will have to address in future practice. This article serves as a primer for legal professionals to learn more about Ontario’s Digital ID initiative.

Student Forum, Information Technology and Intellectual Property Law
Head-shot photo of author Alessia Monastero

Cult Gaia Refused US Trademark Registration of its “Gaia’s Ark” Handbag Design, due to Genericness and Non-distinctiveness Issues

  • May 07, 2022
  • Alessia Monastero, associate & trademark agent, Bhole IP Law

Dubbed as the Instagram “it” bag in 2016, Cult Gaia’s “Ark” bag design was recently refused trademark registration in the United States following the brand’s five-year battle to obtain registration for the design of its bag.

Student Forum, Information Technology and Intellectual Property Law