Prof. Giuseppina D'Agostino is the Founder & Director of IP Osgoode and the IP Innovation Clinic, an Associate Professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, and the Editor-in-Chief of the IPilogue and the Intellectual Property Journal.

IP Osgoode and the IP Innovation Clinic are thrilled to welcome you back on campus for the new school year! After almost 2 full years of completely virtual operations, we look forward to finally seeing our students and colleagues live in person! Here’s a preview of some of the activities you can get involved in over the next 8 months:

“IP Osgoode Speaks Series” is back in person!

Since 2008, we’ve hosted regular IP Osgoode Speaks lectures with guests from industry, academia, and the judiciary (including the Supreme Court of Canada) from Canada and around the world. After over 2 years in lockdown, we are proud to share that the IP Osgoode Speaks Series returned on 31 August 2022, welcoming Dan Bereskin to speak on “Balancing Freedom of Expression with Copyright and Trademark Rights: Art or Science?”

We look forward to hosting Dr. Lior Zemer, Dean of the Harry Radzyner Law School at Reichman University in Israel, in November to discuss “Art and Authorship in Extreme Circumstance: The Case for Nazi Ghettos.” ��

Please stay tuned for more details about ��on our website and by subscribing to our weekly e-Newsletter, the��.��You can also find recordings of our on our website.

IPilogue

���ܰ�����is one of Canada’s leading IP Blogs with an enthusiastic international following. To date,��we have published almost 3000 original posts and over 1400 comments.

The number of visitors to our website and our weekly newsletter () readership continue to grow and span the globe. Our diverse����continued to blog throughout the summer and constitute an important part of IP Osgoode’s team and vision to foster diverse views on intellectual property and technology matters. In order to keep abreast of the latest issues in IP and technology in Canada and around the world, and to learn more about IP Osgoode’s events and activities, please to the IPIGRAM��and follow us on��,��, ���Ի���.

We are����for this academic year. If you are interested in joining the IPilogue Team, please send your cover letter, CV, law school transcripts, and a writing sample to iposgoode@osgoode.yorku.ca��������Friday 9 September 2022.

We will also continue to accept submissions on a guest basis.��For more information about submitting articles to the IPilogue, click��.

IP Innovation Clinic

Now in its twelfth year of operation, the IP Innovation Clinic continues to complement Osgoode’s rich history of clinical offerings by providing students with an opportunity to gain hands-on, practical experience while learning about some common early-stage IP and business-related issues facing under-resourced inventors, entrepreneurs, and start-up companies.

To this end, we����our AI-powered��, a free online service offering IP law information to users and further empowering creators with the tools to protect their IP. We look forward to continue to develop the IP Innovation ChatBot by expanding its knowledge base and making it more accessible, particularly to members of communities traditionally underrepresented in the IP innovation ecosystem. In the meantime,��we encourage you to ask our����as many questions as possible. The more questions it receives, the better it becomes at answering them. You can learn more about it by watching the recording of our launch event��.

�ճ������continues to expand our client base and provide our students with a valuable and unique experiential learning opportunity.��We are currently��for the 2022-2023 academic term. If you are interested, please send your completed application to ipinnovationclinic@osgoode.yorku.ca ������Wednesday 7 September 2022.

To stay up to date with Clinic activities, please follow us on , and .

Oxford International Intellectual Property Law Moot & USPTO National Patent Application Drafting Competition

Following from the momentum of our��third-place finish at last year’s Patent Application Drafting Competition, we will soon host tryouts for this year’s competition, as well as the Oxford International Intellectual Property Law Moot. Look out for our emails and social media posts to learn about how you can get involved in either competition.

Our Writing Competitions

Gowling WLG Best Blog in IP Law & Technology Prize

Each year, through the sponsorship of Gowling WLG, four prizes are awarded to full-time Osgoode students. The recipients for the 2021-2022 academic year were����on the IP Osgoode website.��Eligibility for the����is officially open. All submissions by Osgoode JD students between now and the end of the Winter term will be considered for the prize.

Canada’s IP Writing Challenge

IP Osgoode, together with the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada (IPIC), runs����to further enhance intellectual property public policy research and discussion. This competition is open to three categories of entrants: JD students, LLM and PhD students, and practitioners.

The submission deadline is July 1 every year. This year, we received a wide range of entries from a broad spectrum of backgrounds and institutions across Canada. We thank all those who participated in the Writing Challenge. We are grateful to Dan Bereskin, Professor Ikechi Mgbeoji and Justice Roger Hughes for agreeing to judge the articles again this year. Stay tuned, as��we will announce the Challenge winners in late October�����Ի���open our next competition early next year, among various other initiatives.

A community is only as vibrant as its contributors. As we work and live amidst concerns about COVID-19, even while emerging from the lockdowns, we continue to confront complex and challenging debates in intellectual property and related areas of technology.��Please share with us your ideas to enrich our program and to do our part to make a difference during these unprecedented times. Let us know if you would like to get more involved or if you would like to announce any IP & tech-related research projects or activities.

A community is only as strong and vibrant as its members, I welcome your ideas, projects and anything else you would like to see us do at IP Osgoode for more IP and tech fun!

The post Welcome Back to Osgoode! What to Expect from IP Osgoode & the IP Innovation Clinic in the New Year appeared first on IPOsgoode.

TORONTO, Thursday, Nov. 16, 2017 – For nearly 40 years, has been a guiding force in the Canadian intellectual property (IP) landscape. On Monday, Nov. 20, IP Osgoode and Osgoode Hall Law School at 91��ɫ will host a special symposium in honour of Vaver –

Vaver’s scholarly outputs have been cited with approval in rulings by the Supreme Court of Canada and other court and tribunal opinions. His teaching, at universities on three continents, has influenced generations of students who have gone on to practise, research and teach IP law. On May 10, 2017, the Governor of General of Canada in recognition of “his leadership in intellectual property law as a scholar and mentor”.

The symposium will include a distinguished set of participants drawn from Vaver’s network of former students, colleagues and research collaborators. It will take place from 9am to 4:15pm in Room 1014, Osgoode Hall Law School, Ignat Kaneff Building, Keele campus.

The event will highlight four main themes of Vaver’s extensive scholarship: overlap and redundancy in the IP system, legislation and reform, users’ rights, and the importance of history. IP Osgoode founder and director , who will chair the day’s events, describes her former law professor and now colleague as

Following the symposium, the conversation will continue on IP Osgoode’s blog (), the IPilogue, which will feature blogs and commentary about each panel session. The event will be audio-recorded and a podcast of each panel session, the keynote speech and Vaver’s closing remarks will be made available for those who could not attend. A video of highlights from the day’s events and special messages from some of the participants will be posted on IP Osgoode’s website. In addition, a special edition of the Intellectual Property Journal will be convened with articles and commentaries contributed by the guest speakers and participants.

The , CC,QC (Supreme Court of Canada, 2006 to 2015) will provide a luncheon keynote and will be introduced by The , QC (Federal Court of Canada, 2001 to 2016).

The first session, “Too Much of the Same: Overlap & Redundancy on the IP System,” will feature Hughes, , Professor of Intellectual Property and Information Technology Law, University of Oxford, and , Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa. D’Agostino will chair the session.

“Towards a Coherent Moral Centre: Legislation & Reform,” will be chaired by IP Osgoode faculty member , Associate Dean, Research & Institutional Relations, and Associate Professor, Osgoode Hall Law School, and feature , Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, Queen’s University, and , Assistant Professor, Peter A. Allard School of Law, The University of British Columbia.

The newest IP Osgoode faculty member, , Assistant Professor, Osgoode Hall Law School, will chair the session on “User Rights,” an area where Vaver has made a formative contribution. The panel includes , Visiting Professor of Law, National Law School, Bangalore, and Honorary Research Chair Professor of IP Law, Nirma University, , QC, Founding Partner, Bereskin & Parr LLP, and , William Fairfield Warren, Distinguished Professor, School of Law, Boston University.

, IP Osgoode faculty member and Professor, Osgoode Hall Law School, will chair the day’s final event on “The Importance of History.” The panel features , Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, McGill University, and , Partner, Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP. A cocktail reception will close the day’s events.

Support for the event is provided by IP Osgoode, Osgoode Hall Law School and .

To attend the symposium, RSVP at (event code: Vaver). For the agenda and participant biographies, click .

About IP Osgoode

Conceptualized & founded in 2008 by Professor Giuseppina D’Agostino, , the Intellectual Property (IP) Law and Technology Program at Osgoode Hall Law School, is an independent and authoritative voice which explores legal governance issues at the intersection of intellectual property and technology. IP Osgoode cultivates interdisciplinary, comparative and transnational research, collaboration, policy-thinking and practice on the basis of a tight connection between teaching, research and clinical action. IP Osgoode has put Osgoode and 91��ɫ on the map in the global IP debate. We aim to influence the IP debate in Canada and internationally by educating our students and collaborating with the IP community in Canada and worldwide. Together, we have built an innovative program that is cutting-edge and completely unique to Osgoode.

About Osgoode Hall Law School

of 91��ɫ has a proud history of 128 years of leadership and innovation in legal education and legal scholarship. A total of about 900 students are enrolled in Osgoode’s three-year Juris Doctor (JD) Program as well as joint and combined programs. The school's Graduate Program in Law is also the largest in the country and one of the most highly regarded in North America. In addition, Osgoode Professional Development, which operates out of Osgoode’s facility in downtown Toronto, offers both degree and non-degree programming for Canadian and international lawyers, non-law professionals, firms and organizations. Osgoode has an internationally renowned faculty of 60 full-time professors, and more than 100 adjunct professors. Our respected community of more than 18,000 alumni are leaders in the legal profession and in many other fields in Canada and across the globe.

About 91��ɫ

is known for championing new ways of thinking that drive teaching and research excellence. Our students receive the education they need to create big ideas that make an impact on the world. Meaningful and sometimes unexpected careers result from cross-discipline programming, innovative course design and diverse experiential learning opportunities. 91��ɫ students and graduates push limits, achieve goals and find solutions to the world’s most pressing social challenges, empowered by a strong community that opens minds. 91��ɫ U is an internationally recognized research university – our 11 faculties and 26 research centres have partnerships with 200+ leading universities worldwide. Located in Toronto, 91��ɫ is the third largest university in Canada, with a strong community of 53,000 students, 7,000 faculty and administrative staff, and more than 295,000 alumni. 91��ɫ U's fully bilingual Glendon campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education.

Media Contacts:

Virginia Corner, Communications Manager, Osgoode Hall Law School of 91��ɫ, 416-736-5820, vcorner@osgoode.yorku.ca

Sandra McLean, 91��ɫ Media Relations, 416-736-2100 ext. 22097, sandramc@yorku.ca

The post IP Osgoode and Osgoode Hall Law School host intellectual property symposium in honour of Osgoode Prof. David Vaver, "Intellectual Property: Fuel for the Fire of Genius or Shelf Life of a Banana?" appeared first on IPOsgoode.

EVENTS

IP Osgoode Speaks Series

Adding to our line-up of guest speakers for the IP Osgoode Speaks Series are two very public and dynamic speakers.

Jerry Agar on “I Don’t Care About You”
January 20, 2016, 12:30 - 2:30 PM, OHLS room 2027

Jerry Agar is the host of the Jerry Agar Show which launched in 2010 and airs on NEWSTALK 1010 weekdays 9 am to noon. Mr. Agar will be providing his perspective on effectively leveraging broadcast media for your cause. for more details.

Professor Abraham Drassinower on his new book "What's Wrong with Copying?"
March 2, 2016, 12:30 - 2:30 PM, OHLS room 2027

Professor Drassinower is an associate professor at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law, and chair in the Legal, Ethical and Cultural Implications of Technological Innovation. He will be discussing his new book "What's Wrong with Copying?". Associate Dean Carys Craig and Professor Bita Amani will be providing comments. for more details.

Orphan Works Licensing Portal Hackathon
February 3-5, 2016, OHLS room 1014

Click for the event website.

IP Osgoode has teamed up with Canadian Heritage to host a hackathon where representatives from different stakeholder groups collaborate together to develop new solutions for a more user-friendly and effective online licensing system for Canadian orphan works.

The who's who of the copyright law community will be participating. The hackathon will be a multi-day event where teams composed of members from each of the different stakeholder groups such as, creators, policy makers, computer and law students, legal professionals, and representatives from archival institutions, collective societies, and libraries, will use Design Thinking, a user-centric design process pioneered by Stanford's d.school, to tackle the issues and inefficiencies with the current orphan works licensing regime and generate new solutions for an online orphan works licensing portal that address the needs of different stakeholders.

An award will be given to the team with the most promising idea midway through the event, and then a final award to the team with the best prototype at the conclusion of the event.

If you are interested in participating in this event, please click to fill out an invitation request form.

UNPACK SODRAC: Tech Neutrality, Reproduction Rights and Mandatory Tariffs after CBC v SODRAC (SCC 2015) Symposium
February 25, 2016, 12:30 - 5:30 PM, OHLS room 1006

A half day symposium organized by Osgoode and the University of Toronto on the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in . The event will consist of three panels focused on distinct issues in the case, and will feature a mixture of practitioners (including some of the lawyers directly involved in the Supreme Court litigation, representing the parties or intervenors) and academics whose work directly addresses these issues (including several whose work was cited by the Court). The event will be important not only as a way to digest and debate the decision of the Court, but also as a way to explore potential implications for future copyright cases including the Access Copyright litigation against 91��ɫ.

Effective IP Strategy to Drive Innovation Lunch Seminar
March 9, 2016, 11:30 AM - 2:30 PM, McCarthy Tétrault's Toronto Office (live streaming will be available for viewing at Osgoode Hall Law School, room to be confirmed)

IP Osgoode has teamed up with McCarthy Tétrault LLP to host a luncheon seminar focused on intellectual property issues in the financial industry sector. The event will consist of two panels, the first panel will discuss the key developments in US and Canadian intellectual property law relevant to the banking sector, and the second panel will discuss developing a world-class intellectual property strategy for the banking sector. For those unable to attend the event downtown, there will be a viewing room set up here at Osgoode for a live streaming of the event, room to be confirmed.

IP INTENSIVE PROGRAM

IP Osgoode is gearing up to recruit top notch Osgoode students for the . In anticipation of the Clinical Education Information Session happening on Wednesday, January 13, 2016, IP Osgoode's blog, the IPilogue, will be posting blogs from past students about their placement experiences. To watch a short video about the program, click .

IPILOGUE

Stay tuned to the IPilogue as we will be posting our IP Year in Review blog and a series of blogs related to the IP chapters of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

The IPilogue will be issuing a call on our website for IPilogue Editors for the summer term.�� We encourage students (JD, LLM, PhD) from Osgoode and universities across Canada and worldwide�� to apply.

Each year, through the sponsorship of Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP, four are awarded to full-time Osgoode students. The recipients for the 2014-2015 academic year were on our website. We encourage Osgoode students to write a blog on an IP related topic and/or submit a comment to any one of the blogs posted on our website.�� The deadline to submit a blog to��iposgoode@osgoode.yorku.ca or post a comment is April 8, 2016.

The IPIGRAM

The IPIGRAM is IP Osgoode's e-newsletter. It pulls together our IPilogue posts with events listings, IP in the News and the IP Pick of the Week (which showcases a blog or website, quite often belonging to one of our members). In order to keep abreast of the latest in IP and technology in Canada and around the world, please do to the IPIGRAM.

INNOVATION CLINIC

The is now in its fifth year of operation. In collaboration with and , we continue to expand our client base and provide our students with a valuable and unique experiential learning opportunity. We will be putting out a call on our website for clinic fellows for the 2016 summer term.�� We encourage Osgoode students to apply.

CANADA'S IP WRITING CHALLENGE

Each year, through our partnership with the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada (IPIC), IP Osgoode runs a writing competition in order to further enhance intellectual property public policy research and discussion. This competition is open to three categories of entrants: JD students, LLM and PhD students, and practitioners.

The winner of the 2015 IP Writing Challenge was on our website, we are grateful for Justice Roger Hughes, Dan Bereskin, and Prof. Ikechi Mgbeoji for judging the competition.

The deadline for entrants to submit their articles for the 2016 IP Writing Challenge is July 1, 2016, 5 PM EDT. For the competition rules, click .

IP Osgoode is grateful for the support and contributions of our advisory board, our IP professors and research associates, Dean Sossin and his team, and our founding sponsors: Gowlings, Cassels Brock, and McCarthy Tétrault.

We look forward to continue the growth of IP Osgoode together. If you have any ideas for our program, would like to get more involved, or have any IP & tech related research projects or activities to announce, we would love to hear from you.

With all good wishes for a fantastic new year and hope to see you at our events!

The post IP Osgoode Sneak Preview for 2016 appeared first on IPOsgoode.

On October 23 and 24^th IP Osgoode along with partners and collaborators at the , , and the hosted the first ever legal hackathon of its kind at Osgoode Hall Law School.�� The focus of the hackathon was to deconstruct the unnecessarily complex status quo patent system and make the patenting process more navigable and user friendly. In order to achieve this goal, Professor D’Agostino radicalized collaboration within the IP community by inviting the different stakeholders in the patent process, such as patent examiners, patent agents, IP experts in industry, inventors, lawyers, patent agents and law students to participate in this first ever IP Hackathon. The IP Hackathon was also the result of Professor D’Agostino’s research funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).

Dean Sossin kicked off the event with a warm welcome: “…Legal hackathons are rapidly evolving platforms to bring together people from multiple disciplines and thus create problem-solving tools to empower and enable its users. This event also celebrates the novelty of our law school’s highly acclaimed scholarship…Professor D’Agostino has added a new flavour to our robust experiential learning through this event.”

Inspired by her sabbatical time at Stanford University, Professor D’Agostino highlighted the importance of legal hackathons vis-à-vis conventional academic conferences: “It is high time for the legal community to learn from outside its field and adopt a user-centric approach because its voice is critical to understand how problems are defined and resolved.”

The Honourable Assistant Deputy Minister Bill Mantel was the luncheon keynote speaker and spoke of the government’s initiatives to spur innovation.

Dean Kozinski, the founding Dean of the Lassonde School of Engineering applauded IP Osgoode’s initiative to host an IP Hackathon that brought together law and technology like never before. Appropriately, kicking off the prototype-testing day of the event he said “...Lassonde School is motivated to produce Renaissance Engineers through its BEST Program which fosters innovative minds to create and commercialize technology. IP Osgoode’s legal hackathon is a unique opportunity for my students at Lassonde to work closely with their legal colleagues…”

Along with Professor D’Agostino, legal tech scholars from the d.school - Institute of Design at Stanford University, namely, , , and , were the design hosts for the event. Together they led the four teams of hackers through the to hack into the status quo patent system and resolve user challenges. Because the design approach is user-centric, the hackers had a chance to interviews inventors and consider the needs of the inventors – user testing and continuous feedback from the inventors to the hackers formed the cornerstone of the workshop. The hackers also had the opportunity to consult with professional design developers on the usability of their prototypes and refine their prototypes. The outcome was four sets of different user-friendly prototypes with high potential for real life applications.�� In keeping with the objective of putting words into actions, each group also presented an action plan on how to advance and launch their prototype.

Professor D’Agostino plans to build upon the success of the IP Hackathon and host subsequent IP hackathons in the very near future to tackle other aspects of IP commercialization.�� The conversation and ideas will continue to flourish so please stay in the loop by visiting and subscribing to the IPIGRAM, IP Osgoode’s weekly e-newsletter.

Meenakshi Lakhanpal is a JD Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School and is enrolled in Osgoode’s Intellectual Property Law Intensive Program.

The post The First Ever IP Hackathon Took Place at Osgoode Hall Law School appeared first on IPOsgoode.

Events

IP Osgoode Speaks Series

We have four very exciting guest speakers visiting Osgoode this fall to give a talk as part of the IP Osgoode Speaks Series. They are as follows:

Prof. Graeme B. Dinwoodie (Oxford Intellectual Property Research Centre (OIPRC), University of Oxford) on "Territoriality of Trade Marks in a Post-National Era"
Date & Time: September 18, 12:30 pm to 2:30 pm
Location: Osgoode Hall Law School, room 1006
Event Code: Dinwoodie
RSVP

Dr. Emily Hudson (Oxford Intellectual Property Research Centre (OIPRC), University of Oxford)
Date & Time: September 29, 12:30 pm to 2:30 pm
Location: Osgoode Hall Law School, room 1006
Event Code: Hudson
RSVP

Prof. Jane Ginsburg (Kernochan Centre for Law, Media & the Arts, Columbia University School of Law) on "The Supreme Court's Aereodecision and the U.S.' international obligation to implement the 'making available right': Are we there yet?".
Date & Time: October 6, 2014, 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm
Location: Osgoode Hall Law School, room 1003
Event Code: JaneGinsburg
RSVP

The Honourable Mr. Justice Marshall Rothstein of the Supreme Court of Canada
Date & Time: November 24, 2014, 12:30 pm to 2:30 pm
Location: Osgoode Hall Law School, room 1006
Event Code: Rothstein2014
RSVP

IP Hackathon

It is our great pleasure to announce that IP Osgoode, Stanford Law School, d.school: Institute of Design at Stanford, the BEST Program - Lassonde School of Engineering, and the Canadian Intellectual Property Office are hosting the first ever IP Hackathon entitled “Navigating Patent Applications – An Exercise in Legal Innovation”.

The IP Hackathon will be held on October 23 – 24, from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm, at Osgoode Hall Law School. During this 2-day hackathon, a variety of stakeholders in the patent process will collaborate in small groups to create viable new ideas for redesigning the patent process. Guided by the structure of the human-centered design process, the participants will use their expertise & creativity to generate new solutions for making patent law more usable and user-friendly. This event is by invitation only but if you would like to participate in the hackathon or would like to learn more about this event, please email IP Osgoode at iposgoode@osgoode.yorku.ca.

IP Intensive

Each year we try to build upon what we accomplished in previous years of the and offer our students an even more enriched and engaging experience. For the Fall 2014 term, we have partnered with two new placement organizations: AstraZeneca Canada Inc. and Cineplex Entertainment. We are pleased to welcome our returning placement organizations from last year: Canadian Heritage, Industry Canada, CBC/Radio-Canada, SOCAN, Stanford Center for Legal Informatics (CodeX) at Stanford University, The Globe and Mail, ventureLAB, TEVA Canada Limited, and TVO.

The IP Intensive is a unique program that gives students practical, experiential education in a workplace setting for an entire term in lieu of being in the classroom. Our students gain valuable practical experience which will assist them in obtaining employment after law school, and some of our students’ research in the program has been published in the Intellectual Property Journal (IPJ).

The IP Intensive Program kicks off the first two weeks in September with class seminars featuring experts from the IP community. The seminars will cover a wide variety of topics, from “Collective Copyright Administration” to “Intellectual Property Reform Process”, from “IP Litigation & Remedies” to “Effective Protection of Innovation through an International Patent Strategy”, to name just a few. Some of the experts our IP Intensive students will be interacting and engaging in stimulating discussions with are: a Supreme Court of Canada judge, a Federal Court judge, the CEO of the Canadian Intellectual Property Office, the Chair of the Trade-marks Opposition Board, the Director of the Copyright & International Trade Policy Branch at Canadian Heritage, a U.S. lP litigation expert, in-house counsels and top executives from a broad range of industries, and practitioners from major Canadian law firms.

I am happy to be sharing the co-directorship of the IP Intensive program this year with the esteemed Professor . Throughout the term, Professor Vaver and I will be meeting with the students periodically to discuss topics relating to intellectual property law, to share their experiences in the work environment, and to participate in a cross-pollination of ideas. The students will also be maintaining a reflective journal and blog about their internship experiences. The students’ blogs will be posted on the IPilogue. The students are also responsible for leading their own seminar presentations during the last week of November, and will then wrap up the course by submitting a major research paper.

If you are interested in attending any of our sessions or participating as a placement organization, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me directly.

IPilogue

Our IPilogue is one of Canada's leading IP Blogs with an enthusiastic international following. To date, we have published over 1,840 original posts and 1,280 comments.

We will be issuing a call for Student IPilogue Editors from Osgoode as well as from universities across Canada and worldwide for the new academic year. Please look out for our call for applications on our website.

In order to keep abreast of the latest in IP and technology in Canada and around the world, and to learn more about IP Osgoode’s events and activities, please do to the IPIGRAM.

IP Osgoode Innovation Clinic

The is now in its third year of operation. In collaboration with Innovation 91��ɫ and Torys LLP, we continue to expand our client base and provide our students with a valuable and unique experiential learning opportunity. We will be putting out a call for clinic fellows for the 2014-2015 academic term. Please look for our call for applications on the IP Osgoode website.

Our Writing Competitions

Gowlings Best Blog in IP Law & Technology Prize

Each year, through the sponsorship of Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP, four Gowlings Best Blog in IP Law and Technology prizes are awarded to full-time Osgoode students. The recipients for the 2013-2014 academic year were on the IP Osgoode website.

Canada’s IP Writing Challenge

IP Osgoode together with the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada (IPIC) runs e in order to further enhance intellectual property public policy research and discussion. This competition is open to three categories of entrants: JD students, LLM and PhD students, and practitioners.

The deadline for entrants to submit their articles was July 1, 2014. We thank all those who participated in the Writing Challenge. We are grateful to Professor David Vaver, Professor Ikechi Mgbeoji, and Justice Hughes for agreeing to judge the articles again this year. The winners of this year’s competition will be announced on the IP Osgoode website by October 31, 2014.

IP Osgoode is grateful for the support and contributions of our founding sponsors (Gowlings, Cassels Brock, and McCarthy Tétrault), Advisory Board, Osgoode’s Dean Lorne Sossin and his team, our IP professors and our wider team of International Advisory Council members and Research Affiliates, and of course our students who write for the IPilogue and volunteer so much of their time to our activities.

Giuseppina D’Agostino is the Founder and Director of IP Osgoode, the IP Intensive Program, and the IP Osgoode Innovation Clinic, the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of the IPilogue, the Deputy Editor of the Intellectual Property Journal, and an Associate Professor at Osgoode Hall Law School.

The post 2014/2015 Sneak Preview: Another Busy and Exciting Academic Year for IP Osgoode! appeared first on IPOsgoode.

To Err is Human

Dr. Cafazzo stressed that the��inaccurate use of medical innovations is a widespread and serious problem. The traditional approach is to blame the patients for this problem, as they the ones who make usage errors. [1]

I have to pay how much for my own health data?��

Traditional medical innovations fail to provide the patients with easy access to their own health data.��Under the����[3],��health information custodians (including physicians) have exclusive control of the patients’ medical records. Although the custodians are obliged to provide the patients with their own data, they may charge a fee to “reasonably recover” the cost spent in preparing this information. However, in practice, the , as in the case of��a����who, reportedly, was asked to pay $600 to access her own data.

Proposed Solution: Self-Management Internet Platforms and Mobile Apps ��

To correct these flaws, most health innovations introduced at MedEdge focuses on being simple and user-friendly, and on giving the users fast and efficient access to their health information.

Dr. Cafazzo’s developed , an innovation that encourages asthma patients to understand and self-regulate their health. This mobile application allows the users to access their health information at any place and time. Breathe employs easy-to-read, attractive graphics to display daily and weekly health assessments to users. It encourages the users to take an active role by developing action plans and by competing with other patients to see who best regulates their health.��Similar self-management tools introduced at MedEdge includes .

Privacy Dangers

Although these new innovations do fix many problems��associated with��old medical products, they also bring a set of privacy dangers with them. Whereas traditional medical processes like paper files guard patients’ medical records strictly, some new innovations may be more easily hacked and abused.

My concern for privacy issues particularly in mobile health apps and internet platforms comes from two sources. First, the current state of security features in electronic devices is not sufficiently sophisticated. ��In a recent study conducted by the��, it was found that 86% of mobile apps do not have basic security defenses. Last year, the��, a mobile device manufacturer, for its lack of security features in applications on smartphones and tablets.��These security vulnerabilities enabled malware to be installed without users’ knowledge or consent, allowing hackers to gain access to all of a user's information. HTC settled the case and delivered security patches.����

Nevertheless, I do acknowledge that significant global efforts have been made towards better privacy protections.����In 2013, the ��[4] that requires its member states to assess and manage privacy risks in the information systems under their control. In the same year, the U.S. passed the , which facilitates the sharing of cyber threat intelligence in order to increase cyber security.��In 2012, [5], which seeks to promote cyber-security and co-operation. The problem is that despite these efforts, ��[6].��Therefore, while better cyber security and privacy features are possible,��they have not yet��been achieved.

Additionally, the information involved in health mobile apps is extremely sensitive. For instance, gives users (i.e. anyone who has log in information or has deployed malware to gain access) information about the patient's symptoms, the triggers that cause those symptoms, the patient's past and current medications, and the locations that the patient has been to every time they do a self assessment.��The consequences of leaked health information can be severe. Some medical conditions, such as ��[7]. Also, unauthorized access to this information will likely ��[8].

Conclusion

It is true that many traditional medical products are problematic as they��can be��complicated to use and do not provide users with easy access to their own health data. However, I remain unconvinced that health mobile apps and internet platforms are the best replacements for these products, at least for now.��We still remain in an era where cyber security is fragile and medical information is extremely sensitive.

Sabrina Ding is an IPilogue Editor and a J.D. Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School.��

[1]�� Dr. Joe Cafazzo, "Finding Empathy: Navigating Past The Dark Side Of Health Technology Design" (Health Innovation Design Lecture delivered at the Richmond Hill Centre for Performing Arts, 19 June 2014), [unpublished].

[2]��US, Food and Drug Administration, Draft Guidance for Industry and Food and Drug Administration Staff - Applying Human Factors and Usability Engineering to Optimize Medical Device Design,��(2011) at ss. 1, 11.

[3]��Personal Health Information Protection Act, SO 2004, c 11, s.54(1).

[4]�� Katherine Ritchey et al, "Global Privacy and Data Security Developments" (2013) 69 Business Lawyer

[5]�� Supra note 3.

[6]�� Supra note 3.

[7]�� Gregory Herek, "AIDS and Stigma" (1999) 42 American Behavioral Scientist

[8]�� Khaled et al, "Evaluating Common De-Identification Heuristics for Personal Health Information" (2006) 8 Journal of Medical Internet Research

The post MedEdge 2014 -- New Medical Innovations Bring Privacy Dangers appeared first on IPOsgoode.

Welcoming Remarks

Practical Examples of UGC

Legal Aspects of UGC

Specific UGC Legal Aspects

Contractual Practices

International Law Aspects

Concluding Remarks

The post UGC under Canadian Copyright Law Symposium Videos appeared first on IPOsgoode.

IP Osgoode has a number of illustrious visitors this semester who will be participating in our lecture series as well��as a part of��the second annual (presented with The Institute for Feminist Legal Studies and Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP).

Everyone is welcome to attend these events and we hope that you will join us on the following dates:

Thursday, October 22

Christian Castle (managing partner of Christian L. Castle Attorneys)
2:30pm-4:00pm
Room 102, Osgoode Hall Law School

Thursday, October 29

Professor Graeme Dinwoodie (University of Oxford)
2:30pm-4:00pm
Room 102, Osgoode Hall Law School

Friday, October 30��

Justice Marshall Rothstein of the Supreme Court of Canada will be delivering a guest lecture on intellectual property.�� He will be discussing business method patents and possible approaches that a Canadian court might take in deciding a case such as In Re Bilski.
12:30pm-2:00pm
Room 102, Osgoode Hall Law School
Please RSVP to iposgoode@osgoode.yorku.ca (light refreshments will be served).

Thursday, November 5
Professor Jacqueline Lipton (Case Western Reserve University School of Law)
2:30pm-4:00pm
Room 102, Osgoode Hall Law School

Friday, November 6

10:00am-3:00pm
Gowlings, Suite 1600, 1 First Canadian Place, 100 King Street West
Please RSVP by November 4 to iposgoode@osgoode.yorku.ca

The post Upcoming IP Osgoode Events and Guest Lectures appeared first on IPOsgoode.

On March 13, IP Osgoode a panel discussion entitled Business Method Patents: Bilski and Beyond. While the tagline of the event indicated it was to ‘Explore the effect in Canada of recent US business method patent jurisprudence,’ attendees got treated to a lot more. Speaking from a wide array of perspectives, the panelists provided insightful, yet accessible substance, all the while facilitating an encouraging environment for intellectual cross-pollination.

For the unacquainted, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit released their decision in In re Bilski, (warning: PDF link)��in October 2008. As pointed out by panelist Bob Nakano, the case was heard en banc by the court, and no less than 39 amicus briefs were filed. Clearly, it was a highly anticipated case with far reaching implications on many stakeholders. In the end, the decision changes the decade-old test in State Street Bank v. Signature Financial Group, for the patent-eligibility of business methods. The test of a ‘useful, concrete, and tangible result’ is out, and the older ‘machine or transformation’ test is back in. Greater details about the case can be found and here.

I summarize the main points of the panelists below:

IP Owner

Appropriately starting the discussion was a representative from the stakeholder group which serves as the driver for patent law – inventors. Krishna Pathiyal, Director of IP at Research in Motion provided two key highlights: (1) a useful analytical tool for evaluating caselaw with regards to business method patents, and (2) a view into how innovative businesses view IP risk assessment.

First, the analytical tool used by Krishna employs a spectrum consisting of purely technological innovations on the one end and purely business innovations on the other. In the space filling the two extremes are hybrid innovations. Krishna observed that where the former State Street test allowed hybrid innovations that came very close to being purely business innovations, the current Bilski formulation reins back that line towards the center of the spectrum.

Second, Krishna provided a perspective of the IP risk management issues emanating from Bilski. He noted that the recalibrated test will create investment risks in the form of monies already spent on prepared or outstanding applications because the ultimate procurement of the patent may be at risk. Also, infringement risk may be created because existing patents will now be subject to a more stringent subject matter test.

Practitioners

Two partners from McCarthy Tetrault shared their views. provided the perspective of a patent agent, while gave the view of a litigator.

After taking the audience through a more detailed look at the scope of the new test in Bilski, Bob pointed to the US Patent Office’s internal memo (date Jan. 7, 09) to patent examiners on how to apply Bilski. This memo (found ) contained 3 points: (1) a reiteration of the basic machine or transformation test, (2) a statement that the machine or transformation must impose meaningful limits on the claim’s scope, and (3) an indication that insignificant extra-solution activity which recites a specific machine or a particular transformation of a specific article will be insufficient to make unpatentable subject matter patentable.

While the first 2 points took wording specifically from Bilski, there was a question raised as to what extent the USPTO had authority to implement the third point. This is especially so for the machine prong of the test where the court decided to “leave to future cases the elaboration of the precise contours of machine implementation.” (p.24)

Andrew Reddon provided some strategies on how to litigate business method patents. First, he reminded the audience that when litigating business method patents, subject matter arguments are not the only game in town. Anticipation, obviousness, and breadth are tools in the patent law toolbox that are also available, and can result in fruitful results considering that many business methods patent applications are just attempts to claim methods which have long been used in traditional commerce.

Second, he provided an analysis of Bilski, and discussed how it might be utilized in Canadian courts. Noting that the Canadian conception of ‘art’ outlined in (MoPOP) requires both “an act or series of acts performed by some physical agent” (arguably akin to a ‘machine’) and a requirement to “produc[e] in that object some change of either character or condition” (arguably akin to a ‘transformation’), he observed that the Canadian requirement is in fact narrower than the Bilski test which just required a machine or a transformation.

Additionally, he noted that the dividing line for what can and cannot be transformed as espoused in Bilski is not a meaningful distinction. That is, the court’s distinction (at p. 25-26) between acceptable transformation of data based on physical objects versus unacceptable transformation of data based on intangibles such as legal relationships, business risks, or abstractions creates vague results. If Bilski supports your case, Andrew suggests characterizing Bilski as providing a bright line test; conversely, if Bilski harms your case, Andrew suggests arguing that the distinction in what can be ‘transformed’ is not meaningful.

Last, Andrew pointed out how the recent Supreme Court of Canada case in Apotex v. Sanofi, alluded to US and UK jurisprudence in reformulating the Canadian test for obviousness. In seeking to apply Bilski, Andrew suggested citing this case as one where Canadian courts looked to foreign jurisprudence with favor. If seeking to distinguish Bilski, Andrew suggests characterizing Apotex as only looking to foreign jurisprudence when there was a convergence in foreign viewpoints, which is not the case for the patent-eligibility of business methods.

Academic

Professor Mgbeoji provided a more theoretical and historical viewpoint of the impact of US patent jurisprudence on Canadian patent law. Using the metaphor of an uneasy dialog, Mgbeoji illustrated his point by parsing several key US and Canadian patent cases. Of note, he pointed out the similarity in language and temperament between the majority decision in Diamond v. Chakrabarty, (1980), and the minority opinion in Harvard College v. Canada (Commissioner of Patents), .

Decision-Maker

Coming from the Patent Appeal Board, Paul Fitzner put a face to a government institution that could at times seem distant. After providing an overview of the thicket of procedural steps involved in how patent claims come to be litigated in court, he briefly reviewed the leading case law in Canada surrounding this topic. Observing that there has been a lack of consistency in how Canadian courts have supported their conclusions that such litigated claims were unpatentable, Paul left the audience in anticipation of revised versions of Chapters 12 and 13 of MoPOP which are to be published on April 27, 2009. In addition, he indicated that a Commission decision relating to the patentability of business methods will be handed down around the same time.

(Update: March 16, 2009, 2:50pm - The text above has been updated to correct the erroneous indication that the pending Commissioner's decision concerned claims similar to those in Bilski.�� Paul made no reference to the similarities or differences between the claims in the pending decision and the claims in Bilski.)

Reflection

From a student’s perspective, the wide array of theoretical and practical points was enlightening. Specifically, the perspectives offered by Krishna and Paul concerning the business and decision-maker viewpoints respectively were a rare treat that law students seldom see. I’m sure all audience members, no matter their background, learned a lot from this event.

Powerpoint slides for some of the panelist presentations will be made available here on IP Osgoode soon.

The post In re Bilski North of the Border appeared first on IPOsgoode.