Prof. Pina D’Agostino is the Founder and Director of IP Osgoode, the IP Innovation Clinic, and the IP Intensive Program, and the Editor-in-Chief of the IPilogue.

As 2022 comes to an end, I would like to thank everyone who has worked with IP Osgoode and made it as successful as it has become over the past year and since its very beginning in 2008.

When I first joined Osgoode Hall Law School as a professor in 2006, I dreamed of building closer bridges between academia, government, industry and expert hubs in Canada and around the world. I dreamed of engaging students, academics, legal professionals, and global community members in a meaningful, balanced, respectful, evidence-based and forward-thinking dialogue over IP and tech issues. With the support and partnership of some of my most treasured colleagues and mentors, this vision became IP Osgoode, the university’s flagship IP & Tech program that I founded in 2008.

In 14 years, IP Osgoode has engaged thousands of students, hundreds of partnerships across academia, government and industry, and has attracted over $3 million in public and private funding. We have hosted 101 events, including the first ever legal hackathon of its kind, and welcomed leaders from academia, industry, government, the judiciary, and private practice from around the world. The award-winning IPilogue has published over 3000 original blog posts and 1400 comments, written by over 200 IPilogue Team members, as well as guest writers from Osgoode and the broader IP community. With support from IP Osgoode, Osgoode has reached 7 IP moot finals, with one big win, 5 second place finishes, and one third place finish, and winning 4 further awards.

IP Osgoode has supported the development of my two other passion projects. Through the IP Innovation Clinic that I founded in 2010, over 200 students have helped almost 500 under-resourced clients to realize, protect, and commercialize their IP, saving cash-strapped clients over $2 million in legal costs that would have otherwise been billable and helping them secure funds that supported global operations and created new jobs. Through the IP Intensive program that I founded in 2010, 133 students have completed 10-week internships for academic credit with 26 partner organizations, a feat yet unparalleled by any other program.

Our countless student internships and graduate research opportunities have diversified the international IP law dialogue, and I am so proud of our alumni who have leveraged their experiences into successful careers and now give back to our programming and the wider community. I constantly hear students citing that they accepted offers from Osgoode so that they could join the IP Intensive and IP Innovation Clinic, and stories about prospective law students around the world being drawn to the force that is IP Osgoode.

As 2022 comes to an end, I share that my own tenure as Director of IP Osgoode also ends as I transition to my new role as the Founding Co-Director of the newly minted 91��ɫ Centre for AI & Society (CAIS). I will continue to work on the IP Innovation Clinic and the IP Intensive and look ahead with excitement to continuing to grow these initiatives. I will cherish the lessons I have learned and the relationships I have built at IP Osgoode and will continue to empower my students and community to make their mark in the innovation ecosystem.

As of January 1, 2023, I am delighted that my colleague, Prof. Carys Craig, will take over as Director of IP Osgoode, and I wish her all the best in guiding our students forward and lifting IP Osgoode to new heights.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas, a Happy Holiday Season, and a healthy, successful, and creative New Year!

Warmest wishes,

Prof Pina D’Agostino

Founding Director, IP Osgoode

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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.

Photo by Engin Akyurt ()

Prof. Pina D’Agostino is the Founder and Director of IP Osgoode, the IP Intensive Program, and the IP 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. This article features contributions from Ryan Wong (IP Osgoode & IP Innovation Clinic Alumnus), Sabrina Macklai (IPilogue Senior Editor), Tianchu Gao (IPilogue Writer), and Ashley Moniz (IPilogue Managing Editor).

2021 was an exciting year for the IPilogue. Our hard-working students and community members published more than twice as many articles than in 2020 and the most articles in a calendar year since 2011. This sharp increase helped us stay up to date with some of the biggest topics shaking up intellectual property: from , to ; and from growing investments in and , to IP registrars around the world grappling with whether to acknowledge ��as an inventor or artist. This article summarizes the top developments reported on our blog and in patents, trademarks, and copyright law in 2021. For a review of Privacy legislation in Canada, check out .

Top 10 Most Read IPilogue Articles Published in 2021

1. by Sabrina Macklai & Emily Chow
2. by Prof. David Vaver
3. by Claire Wortsman
4. By Claire Wortsman
5. by Natalie Bravo
6. by Prof. Giuseppina D’Agostino
7. by Bonnie Hassanzadeh
8. By Meena Alnajar
9. by Prof. David Vaver
10. by Bonnie Hassanzadeh

Introducing the College of Patent Agents & Trademark Agents

On , the came into force. The Act established the (‘’), an independent public interest regulator of patent and trademark agents in Canada. The purpose of the College is “to enhance the public’s ability to secure the rights provided under the and the .” The College’s responsibilities include maintaining professional competencies and ethics, issuing licences, collecting fees, and administering certification exams. This development marks a key milestone for the profession and for Canada’s . Though still in its infancy, the College has been criticized for and its , which may impose an additional fee on lawyer agents. It remains to be seen how influential the College is on the profession as it is expected to be fully operational within the next two years.

Patents

Overbreadth as an Independent Ground of Invalidity

On July 28, 2021, the Federal Court of Appeal confirmed overbreadth as a standalone attack on patent validity: . In this case, the appellants argued that there is no statutory basis for overbreadth as a ground for invalidity. The Federal Court of Appeal disagreed and found that overbreadth can be supported by a combination of sections 27(3) and 27(4) of the Patent Act. Case law has often overlapped overbreadth with other grounds of invalidity such as obviousness, anticipation, and inutility.��

First Time Interpreting Patent Agent Privilege

Similar to solicitor-client privilege, patent agent privilege was introduced by section 16.1 of the Patent Act on June 24, 2016. The first case on patent agent privilege was decided this year: In this decision, the Federal Court provided some helpful commentary and analysis on the application and limitations of patent agent privilege.��

Patent Prosecution History Now Admissible as Evidence

In 2018, section 53.1 of the Patent Act was added to make patent prosecution history admissible as evidence in patent proceedings. This was a significant development as the Supreme Court of Canada had expressly rejected the idea and stated that admitting patent prosecution history “would undermine the public notice function of the claims, and increase uncertainty as well as fuelling the already overheated engines of patent litigation” (Free World Trust v Électro Santé Inc., 2000 SCC 66 at para. 66). Three subsequent Federal Court of Appeal decisions developed this provision further: ; ; and .��

Continued Debates over AI as an Inventor

Around the world, patent registrars grappled with patent applications that credit artificial intelligence software as the inventor. Dr. Stephen Thaler’s “DABUS” (Device for Autonomous Bootstrapping of Unified Sentience) applied for patents around the world for its interlocking food containers. DABUS was granted patents in Australia and South Africa, with . In line with the and the , the disagreed, stating that absent express intention from Congress, the term “individual” in their statutory definition of “inventor” . The Supreme Court of Canada last considered the definition of "inventor" in 2002, but has yet to consider whether it would include non-human entities.

Trademark Law

Parody in Trademarks is No Joke

In , the Federal Court reaffirmed that parody is not a defence against trademark violation. Unlike the 2020 decision ), where the Federal Court failed to find the marks confusing, Justice McHaffie held there was a likelihood of confusion and passing off. This was based partly on the similarity of the trademarks and the overlap of the goods (both offering baked goods). However, even if the nature of the parties’ trades differ, trademark owners may still find recourse against spoofed versions of their marks through claiming depreciation of goodwill under section 22 of the . Here, the Court found goodwill in Subway’s trademarks, which was damaged by the nature of Budway’s products, as contrary to Subway’s “healthy and active” lifestyle promotion. With damages amounting to $40,000, it is clear the courts are unamused by parody in trademarks.

The Road Less Travelled Cannot be Trademarked

Like most countries, Canada bars the registration of “clearly descriptive” trademarks to prevent applicants from monopolizing words that merely describe the goods or services at hand. For this reason, marks consisting of are typically unregistrable. In , the Federal Court clarified when such marks might be protected. Hidden Bench and Locust Lane are two wineries operating on the same little road, “Locust Lane”. Although the Federal Court agreed that Hidden Bench met the threshold for a valid common law trademark over “Locust Lane”, they ultimately held that the mark, as clearly describing the goods and services’ place of origin, lacked both inherent and acquired distinctiveness. Therefore, Hidden Bench could not establish the necessary goodwill for a passing off claim. Only descriptive marks that have acquired a “secondary meaning” through use may warrant protection.

CIPO Addresses the Application Backlog

While filing trademarks is important for brand protection, the examination stage can take . In May, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) new measures to address the application backlog. Trademark owners may now file requests to expedite their examination where the registration of their mark is necessary for special circumstances such as if a Canadian court action involving the mark is expected or underway or if the goods or services are aimed at preventing, diagnosing, treating, or curing COVID-19. If accepted, the examination will take place within two weeks. The examination is also automatically expedited by approximately 6-10 months when the goods and services in the application are listed in CIPO’s . Though it is too early to assess the effect of these changes on mitigating the “”, the backlog of CIPO’s unexamined trademark applications appears to have as of December 13, 2021.

Push to Register Non-French Trademarks for Use in Quebec

Among the controversies associated with Quebec’s proposed Bill 96, , the bill stipulates new requirements for trademark owners operating in Quebec. Currently, under Quebec’s French-language laws, both registered and unregistered (i.e., common law) trademarks recognized under the may appear on public signs, posters, and commercial advertising in Quebec, in languages exclusively other than French. If enacted, Bill 96 would permit only registered non-French trademarks to appear on public signage, provided there is no corresponding registered French version of the mark. The Coalition Avenir Quebec government tabled Bill 96 on May 13, 2021, and Quebec’s National Assembly last examined it on December 10. Some iteration of the bill will likely become law by the end of this year. But even if it fails to pass, businesses relying on common law trademarks would be wise to try to register them, given the many that registration provides.��

Copyright Law

In 2021, the Federal Court and Federal Court of Appeal heard 57 copyright infringement proceedings, approximately of all IP-related litigations at these levels.

Developments in Fair Dealing

The Copyright Act’s section 29 fair dealing provision, which allows for certain uses of copyright-protected materials, remained a central issue. affirmed that fair dealing for the purpose of news reporting (section 29.2 of the Act) must provide attribution, mentioning both the source and the name of the author. An indirect reference to the author accessible through “minimum research” is insufficient. As such, the Federal Court of Appeal rejected Trend Hunter’s argument that hyperlinking to the source article where Stross was credited was sufficient to meet the second requirement. The Court also declined to find fair dealing under s. 29 more broadly, considering that Trend Hunter’s dealing was commercial in nature, reproduced Stross’ work in its entirety, and that alternatives were available.

Fair dealing was once again at issue in , where the Federal Court held that the Conservative Party’s use of the CBC’s news footage of Liberal Party Leader and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during their 2019 election campaign did not infringe CBC’s copyright. The court undertook a large and liberal interpretation of fair dealing, finding that the Conservative Party’s use of CBC footage was for the purpose of criticism under s. 29.1.

91��ɫ achieved a in the copyright tariff dispute with the Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (“Access Copyright”) in In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the interim tariff approved by the Copyright Board is not mandatory. Users can choose whether to accept licences or pursue alternative methods to lawfully copy works. Notably, this marked Justice Rosalie Abella’s final decision before her retirement from the Supreme Court of Canada. Throughout her tenure, and her judgement here provided helpful obiter regarding fair dealing as integral to users’ rights.

Even Fake Facts are Not Copyrightable

involves the alleged copyright infringement of the famous true-crime story The Black Donnellys. The book had always been presented and accepted as “.” The Federal Court ruled that “an author who publishes what is said to be a nonfiction historical account cannot later claim the account is actually fictional to avoid the principle that there is no copyright in facts.” Given today’s popularity of the phrase “based on a true story”, this ruling is a that there is no copyright in facts, even if they are later found to be untrue.

Copyright in Evolving Content Transmission

In , the Federal Court found the defendant liable for copyright infringement in its provision of pre-loaded set-top boxes and internet protocol television (IPTV) services and awarded the plaintiff nearly $30 million in damages. These services made copyrighted works owned by the plaintiff available to the public without the plaintiff’s permission. This decision marks the first time The court dealt with a similar issue in ). As IPTV is growing increasingly popular across the globe, its poses a challenge in Canada.

Availability of Reverse Class Actions for Copyright Infringement Claims

The first of its kind in Canada, the Federal Court of Appeal in affirmed that reverse class actions may be pursued in connection with copyright infringement claims. Though the matter was sent back to the Federal Court for further consideration, this judgement may encourage and enable mass copyright enforcement in the future, especially in our digital age where copyright infringement is more commonplace.

Public Consultations Ahead of 2022’s Copyright Reform

As part of the (CUSMA), which came into force on July 1, 2020, Canada has until the end of 2022 to implement numerous changes to their domestic copyright laws; most notably, extending the general term of copyright protection from . In light of the upcoming legislative amendments, the Government of Canada hosted three public copyright consultations in 2021:

• ;
• ; and

With the consultations now closed, it will be interesting to see how Canadian copyright laws will change in 2022 to accord not only with international obligations but our ever evolving digital world and public attitudes surrounding copyright laws.

The post 2021 IP Year in Review appeared first on IPOsgoode.

Photo by Moritz Knoringer ()

Prof. 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.

We are thrilled to welcome our students and colleagues back to a new and exciting year at IP Osgoode! One month ago, we anticipated being able to greet all of you in person. Although we have to wait a little longer, we are glad to continue virtually working with you and building IP engagement and interaction in 91��ɫ and beyond.

As students look for ways to get involved and learn more about IP over the next year, we would like to make a few recommendations:

Intellectual Property Law and Technology Intensive Program () - Fall 2022

The IP Intensive is a unique program that gives 3L students practical, experiential education 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 is published in the Intellectual Property Journal (IPJ).

We invite all 1L and 2L Osgoode students to join IP Osgoode at Osgoode’s Information Session for all Clinical Education and Intensive Programs on Wednesday, 12 January 2022 from 12:30 pm to 2:00 pm. You can also contact us directly at iposgoode@osgoode.yorku.ca.

If you want to read more about the different placement organizations and the students’ personal experiences in the IP Intensive then please visit IP Osgoode’s website ���Ի�����to IP Osgoode’s weekly e-newsletter, the IPIGRAM. Our Fall 2021 students’ blogs will be published on the IPilogue over the coming weeks, but you can find past reflections .

Apply online through the MyOsgoode portal by Monday, 24 January 2022 at 4:00 pm.

IPilogue

Our intellectual property law and technology blog will be recruiting IPilogue Writers for the Winter term. IPilogue Writers contribute one blog article biweekly for publication. Further details about joining the team will be available .

As always, the IPilogue accepts guest submissions on an ongoing basis. Learn more about publishing articles on our blog here:

We thank you all for being a part of the IP Osgoode community and look forward to breaking new ground in 2022.

The post Happy New Year and Welcome Back to IP Osgoode! appeared first on IPOsgoode.

Ashley Moniz is the Managing Editor of the IPilogue and the Assistant Director of IP Osgoode.

��

On October 15, 2008, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto, IP Osgoode was officially launched. Known as Osgoode Hall Law School’s Intellectual Property Law and Technology Program, Prof. Pina D’Agostino set out to create a program that would lead IP law discourse, foster a vibrant community whose members are welcome to share broad perspectives, and diversify the IP innovation ecosystem. Now, 13 years later, IP Osgoode and the IP Innovation Clinic are still forging new paths and relationships in the IP community.

Here are a few noteworthy accomplishments from the past year:

IP Osgoode

• Runners-Up at the Oxford IP Moot: in March 2021, for the first time. Under Prof. D’Agostino and Prof. David Vaver’s academic supervision and expert coaching from lawyers at Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP and Deeth Williams Wall LLP, our team placed second after an incredible showing and very close competition, winning the Kirkland & Ellis Runner-Up Prize for Oral Proceedings in the process.
• Leading Legal Disruption Published: in May 2021, . The book, titled Leading Legal Disruption: Artificial Intelligence and a Toolkit for Lawyers and the Law, was co-edited by Dr. Aviv Gaon of IDC Herzliya and Carole Piovesan of INQ Law.
• Two Bracing for Impact Webinars: IP Osgoode collaborated with the Harry Radzyner Law School at the IDC Herzliya and Microsoft Canada to present two new webinars in our Bracing for Impact Event Series: “” in and “” in , the latter being also in collaboration with Alectra’s GRE&T Centre. The webinars featured speakers from around the world and drew in almost 250 spectators between them.
• First Virtual Trademark Hearing: thanks to the Honourable Justice Michael Manson of the Federal Court of Canada, over 70 Osgoode students and faculty members virtually attended the .
• IPilogue’s Return to Daily Publishing: under a new structure, the has returned to publishing daily blog articles written by our dedicated team of IPilogue Writers. Almost 270 articles have been published over the past year alone, more than 120 more than the previous year. We continue to receive and publish guest submissions from students, academics, lawyers, and members of our as well.

IP Innovation Clinic

• IP Innovation ChatBot Launched: The IP Innovation Clinic officially launched its through a . Developed with assistance and support from Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP, CIPO, and ISED Canada, the AI-backed ChatBot provides accurate and reliable IP law information for free on our website. Thanks to further funding from ISED through the National IP Strategy, we look forward to continuing to expand the breadth of the ChatBot’s impact and better reach and assist members of underrepresented communities in the IP Innovation ecosystem.
• Mitacs-funded Business Strategy Internships: in March 2021, . The IP Innovation Clinic placed 3 Clinic Fellows with businesses pivoting their operations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Prof. D’Agostino was also featured in the marking the official launch of the program.
• Clinic Clients Secured Millions in Funding: two IP Innovation Clinic clients leveraged IP information from our Clinic Fellows to massive expansions of their business. to develop their drone technology and for their sustainable clothing brand.
• First LPP Candidate: during the Winter 2021 Term, under the supervision of IP Osgoode alumnus Reshika Dhir of Bereskin & Parr LLP, the IP Innovation Clinic . We look forward to welcoming two new LPP candidates in Winter 2022.
• The IP Lunch Club Continues: for the second year in a row, and in collaboration with the City of Barrie Sandbox Centre, Prof. D’Agostino’s Directed Reading: IP Innovation Program students presented , educating local entrepreneurs and innovators about registering and commercializing IP rights. Many attendees from these webinars go on to engage the IP Innovation Clinic for IP and commercialization assistance.

As always, we are grateful to all of the students, faculty, partners, and our Advisory Board for making this past year as great a success as it was. None of the above accomplishments would have happened if not for their passion, dedication, and hard work. As we welcome new students and continue to seek out more involvement, we look forward to another wonderful year and welcome new students and partnerships who can help us grow to even greater heights.

The post Happy 13th Birthday IP Osgoode! appeared first on IPOsgoode.

It is our great pleasure to provide you all with a sneak preview of what we have planned for the 2021-2022 academic year and encourage you to participate.

IPilogue

Our is one of Canada’s leading IP Blogs with an enthusiastic international following. To date, we have published over 2,600 original posts and 1,400 comments.

The number of visitors to our website and our weekly newsletter () readership continue to grow exponentially and span the globe. Our diverse continued to blog throughout the summer and constitutes to be an important part of IP Osgoode’s team and vision of fostering diverse views on intellectual property and technology matters. 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 to the IPIGRAM and follow us on , , and .

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 by the end of the day today.

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 eleventh 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 continuing to develop the IP Innovation ChatBot by expanding its knowledge base and making it more accessible, but 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 .

The continues to expand our client base and provide our students with a valuable and unique experiential learning opportunity. We are currently for the 2021-2022 academic term. If you are interested, please send your completed application to iposgoode@osgoode.yorku.ca by the end of the day today.

Open Research Assistant Positions

Prof. Pina D’Agostino and Prof. David Vaver are hiring , primarily for assistance in copyright law. If you are interested, please send a completed application to iposgoode@osgoode.yorku.ca by September 10, 2021.

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

Following from the momentum of our , we will soon host tryouts for this year’s competition, as well as the USPTO National Patent Application Drafting Competition. Look out for our emails and social media posts to learn about how you can get involved in either competition.

IP Intensive

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).

Each year we build upon what we accomplished in previous years in the and offer our students an even more enriched and engaging experience. For the Fall 2021 term, we are proud to have partnered with two new placement organizations: Canadian Heritage (International Trade Branch) and Xanadu Quantum Technologies. We are pleased to welcome our returning placement organizations: Alectra Utilities, AstraZeneca Canada Inc., the Bergeron Entrepreneurs & Science and Technology (BEST) Lab, Canadian Heritage (Broadcast, Copyright and Creative Marketplace Branch), CBC, Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO), SOCAN, The Globe and Mail, TEVA Canada Limited, TVO, and ventureLAB.

Professor will be the Director of the IP Intensive program this year. Throughout the term, he will meet with the students 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 blog on the IPilogue and maintain a reflective journal about their internship experiences. The students will be responsible for leading seminar presentations during the last week of November, and ultimately submitting a major research paper.

The IP Intensive Program kicks off with two weeks of class seminars featuring experts from the IP community. The seminars cover a wide variety of topics, from “Collective Copyright Administration” to “Intellectual Property Reform Process”, and from “IP Litigation & Remedies” to “Digital Content Platforms & Broadcasting Industry”, just to name a few. Some of our experts speaking include members of the judiciary, officials from the Government of Canada, Canadian and U.S. IP litigation experts, in-house counsel, top executives from a broad range of industries, and practitioners from major Canadian law firms.

Olha Senyshyn’s Departure and Ashley Moniz’s Welcome

This Fall, we bid a bittersweet farewell to IP Osgoode’s Assistant Director, Olha Senyshyn. Olha has been a valuable member of the IP Osgoode team for the past two years. We will miss her very much and wish her all the best in her future endeavours.

We are pleased to share that Ashley Moniz, who joined us this past January, will continue in his role as Assistant Director and succeed Olha. We look forward to continue to work with Ashley as he has already proven to be wonderful addition to our team.

“Bracing for Impact: Webinar Series” continues & “IP Osgoode Speaks Series” Returns

Building on the success of our signature and in our webinar series over the past year, we plan to continue to use our Bracing for Impact: Webinar Series to maintain the dialogue among academic scholars, practitioners, and industry leaders from Canada and around the world, including Israel and the EU. The series of events explores critical issues in emerging technologies, data policy and governance strategies, with a focus on AI, blockchain, privacy, disruptive technology and tech innovation and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In collaboration with the Harry Radzyner Law School at the IDC Herzliya in Israel and Microsoft Canada, we have so far hosted 3 events in our Bracing for Impact Webinar Series: “” (22 June 2020), “” (1 December 2020), and “” (28 June 2021), the latter webinar was also hosted in collaboration with Alectra Inc.’s GRE&T Centre and featured the newly-minted Ontario Minister of the Environment, Conservation & Parks, David Piccini. Each webinar took place virtually over Microsoft Teams in the format of a panel discussion featuring scholars from across North America, Europe, and Israel.

You can read more about each of our past events and watch recordings of each webinar on our . We look forward to launching our new Bracing for Impact website very soon, so stay tuned for that!

We also plan to revive our IP Osgoode Speaks Series. Since 2008, we’ve hosted 29 IP Osgoode Speaks lectures with guests from industry, academia, and the judiciary (including the Supreme Court of Canada) from Canada and around the world. We hope to have even more distinguished speakers join us this year.

Please stay tuned for more details on upcoming events by visiting our ��and subscribing to our weekly e-Newsletter, the .��

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 2020-2021 academic year were on the IP Osgoode website. Eligibility for the opens today. 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 and open our next competition early next year, among various other initiatives.

A community is only as vibrant as its contributors. Given the challenges of the ongoing pandemic, 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.

The post Welcome Back to IP Osgoode: Here's a Sneak Peek at what's to come this year appeared first on IPOsgoode.

Photo Credit: Prof Pina D'Agostino

Prof Giuseppina D’Agostino is the Founder & Director of IP Osgoode, the IP Intensive Program, and the IP Innovation Clinic, the Editor-in-Chief for the IPilogue and the Intellectual Property Journal, and an Associate Professor at Osgoode Hall Law School. She is also very proud of her new book!

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I am excited to share that I just published a collection on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the law, Leading Legal Disruption: Artificial Intelligence and a Toolkit for Lawyers and the Law (Thomson Reuters 2021). Co-edited with Dr. Aviv Gaon and Carole Piovesan, the book provides a provocative analysis on the emerging terrain of AI and how it interrogates various areas of the law. The book, that features a foreword from the Hon. Marshall Rothstein (formerly of the Supreme Court of Canada), is an international collaboration of thought leaders in AI, with contributors from Canada, the USA, Europe and Israel. Issues discussed include intellectual property, privacy, contract law, regulation, governance, ethics, business and more. Importantly, such issues merit a toolkit of practical and international perspectives as they are increasingly complex and ajurisdictional. ����

In many ways this book is also a reflection of Osgoode’s strengths in AI. My co-editors, Dr. Aviv Gaon, Director at IDC Herzliya of Experiential Programs, is a PhD graduate (class of 2019) publishing several other books on AI and emerging technology, and Carole Piovesan (class of 2009) has co-founded her own firm, INQ Law. ��I am myself an LL. B graduate from Osgoode (class of 1999), eventually returned as faculty to found and run IP Osgoode and I am currently co-chairing the 91��ɫ AI & Society Task Force, among many other initiatives in this space.

I am particularly thankful to the Osgoode JD students who provided helpful research assistance: Elif Babaoglu, Daniel Joseph, Joseph Simile, Rachel Marcus, Christopher Tsuji, and Julianna Felendzer.

I am most grateful for the enthusiastic endorsements by Prof David Vaver (Professor of Intellectual Property Law, Osgoode; Emeritus Professor of Intellectual Property & Information Technology Law, University of Oxford), Prof Jane Ginsburg (Morton L. Janklow Professor of Literary and Artistic Property Law, Columbia University School of Law), Justice Michael Manson (Federal Court of Canada), and Dan Bereskin (Partner, Bereskin & Parr LLP) all which can be read on the back cover.

They say you can’t judge a book by its cover, but I particularly like this one, inspired by an AI and suggestive of our youth, our future ultimately grappling with AI and other emerging technology, that will iterate in every generation.

I look forward to hearing from you on your thoughts on the book (and the cover!). You may order your copy��here.

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Although the Trudeau government focused much of its attention in the recent federal budget with the continuing fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, buried deep in the document were promises to tackle data and intellectual property (IP) issues which it says will be key as a digital economy becomes the norm for many.

With more and more of people’s lives happening online — and the pandemic forcing individuals to move their workstations from gleaming towers to cozy home offices — the federal government is saying a digital economy that serves and protects Canadian business is vital for long-term growth, but Canadians must be able to trust that their data is protected and being used responsibly.

To that end, the federal Liberals are promising to create an office of data commissioner aimed at informing government and business approaches to data-driven issues to help protect people’s personal data and to encourage innovation in the digital marketplace.

Pina D’Agostino, founder and director of the Intellectual Property Law and Technology Program at Osgoode Hall Law School (IP Osgoode), said appointing a data commissioner is “basically signalling the importance of data as a new currency.”

“Ownership and governance issues of data are not privacy issues, so it would be beyond the mandate of a privacy commissioner,” she said. “The signal is that it’s not just about privacy that matters, there are other social implications — what they speak about in artificial intelligence is that data can tend to privilege certain demographic groups in society, so we want to ensure that doesn’t happen and someone like a data commissioner would be mindful of that.”

Marc Yu, a privacy and data management lawyer with Edmonton’s Field Law, said the concept of a data commissioner is “interesting” for Canada.

“It is a fairly short description in the budget as to what the data commissioner is intended to do, so it is likely there will be further details once the commissioner’s office is developed in the future and becomes operational,” he said. “I would think one of the data commissioner’s roles would be to streamline information sharing amongst the public sector, so amongst the federal agencies and federal departments we would have a clearer process in terms of how data might be shared between these different agencies and departments to help them further their objectives and functions in this digital environment, while also maintaining the personal privacy of individuals to whom this information belongs.”

In addition to creating a data commissioner’s office the budget also contains several direct investments in intellectual property, building on the national intellectual property strategy announced in the government’s 2018 fiscal plan. Ottawa is promising to establish ElevateIP, a program to help accelerators and incubators provide startups with access to expert intellectual property services, and allow companies to expense the cost of some investments in digital and IP assets.

These initiatives would be complemented by a strategic intellectual property program review, which would be a broad assessment of intellectual property provisions in Canada’s innovation and science programming, from basic research to near-commercial projects.

D’Agostino said the funding is welcome because the costs associated with many intellectual property matters, such as filing patents, are very high. And she noted a setting up a review “really speaks to the issues which we have seen in the IP system.”

“It is not useful to have siloed approach — we have a Patent Act, a Copyright Act and a Trademark Act that don’t speak to one another and at the same time develop polices in isolation,” she said. “We need to look at all of them and how they benefit innovation and science generally because they all work together, and ensuring there is no siloing and how the laws and the programs we have can really benefit research commercialization and ultimately innovation for Canada.”

More information on the federal budget can be found .

If you have any information, story ideas or news tips for please contact Ian Burns at Ian.Burns@lexisnexis.ca or call 905-415-5906.

Ian Burns is a Digital Reporter for The Lawyer's Daily.

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At the beginning of 2020, when the team was first scheduled to compete, compulsory licensing seemed like a fun thought experiment and a great theoretical moot problem about balancing IP rights and public health. It quickly became an eerily relevant issue as the world rapidly shut down and essential medical items like masks, gloves, and ventilators became precious commodities. Doors stayed shut, Wi-Fi capacity limits got tested, and in the wake of the initial disbelief that the world was collectively at war with the most covert of enemies, there was little room to feel disappointment about the cancellation of the competition. As the months wore on, and a new normalcy crystallized, the team got word that the competition was back on, and that the 2020 competitors were invited to return. Two of the team members came back, and a third joined ranks in January of 2021.

The moot organizers pivoted to a Zoom format and accommodated its largest set of teams to date, with 32 schools battling for the title. The first day entailed a virtual welcome ceremony. Moments after the team’s alarm clocks screamed to life at 6:30 am, each member logged into Zoom, sleepy-eyed and afflicted with the most serious cases of bed head. As the organizer scrolled through the competing teams’ slides, it slowly became apparent that Osgoode had miscalculated. Slide after slide passed through the platform, with many a suit and rarely a smile. Then Osgoode’s slide came roaring in with a beaver, a moose, and what appeared to be a team member drinking maple syrup straight from the bottle. Whatever impression they made, the Ozzies quickly made it clear that they meant business.��

The preliminaries were also no laughing matter, as the competition was fierce. Thankfully, Osgoode was blessed with the platinum package for coaching and the preliminaries were passed through with a breeze. As the team advanced on, excitement in the Osgoode community rose. The team entered the final match, buttressed with support from all angles in the Oz community, the IP space, and from their collective friends and family. The online format uniquely allowed all supporters to watch their team in action, and we felt the love. While Osgoode ultimately lost out in the grand final, the opportunity to experience this competition was a big “W”.

To our 2020 team member, Julianna Felendzer, we hope we did you proud. Thanks for helping us secure the invite to the oral rounds!

To our coaches Jennifer Davidson, Stephen Selznick, Any Obando and Giuseppina D’Agostino, we are forever grateful for your dedication and your support, especially when it was just a “hair toss, check your nails” kind of day!

Co-written by Anna Morrish, Alex Dumais, and Karin Kazakevich, 2021 Oxford International Intellectual Property Law Moot Runners Up

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, Founder and Director of IP Osgoode, opened the event by highlighting the ’s success throughout its years in making IP information more accessible and elevating diverse voices in the IP and innovation space. Professor D’Agostino laid out the event agenda, introduced the exceptional team behind the , and the for the Launch Event.

Following Professor D’Agostino’s remarks, , Vice President of Research and Innovation at 91��ɫ, provided land acknowledgements and highlighted 91��ɫ’s commitment to welcoming diverse voices to the academic space. Dr. Asif echoed the importance of making credible IP knowledge more accessible through tools such as the IP Innovation Clinic ChatBot.

, Associate Director at Lab introduced , Co-Founder & CEO of . Nikita’s inspiring story of turning his vision into reality, with the help of the BEST Lab, the IP Osgoode Innovation Clinic, and the Schulich School of Business, is a testament to the remarkable achievements that are possible through collaboration. Nikita, alongside his partner at Skygauge Robotics, , used BEST Lab resources to invent and develop a drone which uses ultra-sound technology to inspect metal structures. aims to provide a safe, efficient, and cost-effective way to inspect metal structures. With the help of the IP Innovation Clinic, Nikita and Skygauge patented their invention.

After Nikita’s presentation, it was time for the demo. The ChatBot was developed through the efforts of , Partner at Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP, Senior Innovation Lawyer at Norton Rose, , JD Candidate and IP Innovation Clinic Coordinator, and at IP Osgoode. Al Hounsell provided a primer on artificial intelligence (AI) and how it can be utilized to deliver legal information to clients, innovators, and entrepreneurs. The can be classified as a rules-and-pattern-based AI system because it derives its baseline system of rules from information fed to it by legal experts. The ChatBot gets “smarter” by identifying patterns in its users’ input. The ChatBot identifies two key components form these patterns: intents and entities. Intents are what the ChatBot users intend to derive from the questions they ask. Entities modify intents in an AI-based system. In the context of the ChatBot, as Ryan demonstrated in the demo, entities can be defined as the alternative ways in which a question can be asked. As a result, the more familiar the ChatBot becomes with different iterations of a question, the more intelligent and competent it becomes.

The final portion of the event was a thoughtful panel discussion moderated by Osgoode Hall Law School about navigating the IP and innovation ecosystem. The came from different sectors in the IP and innovation space. Each one brought a valuable perspective on the pressing IP and innovation issues that Canada and the world face, including economic growth, accessibility, and elevating diverse voices . A common theme running through the panel discussion was the importance of creating an inclusive and accessible environment for Canadian innovators of all backgrounds to flourish; and elevating voices from underserved communities who have been left out of the conversation for too long.

The deepened my understanding of how AI can easily, accessibly, and cost-effectively deliver information to users. Intellectual property assets are often a business’s first and most valuable assets, especially in its early stages. However, many innovators cannot access legal advice about their IP rights so early on in their business. I hope that free and user-friendly tools, such as the , can alleviate some of the barriers that currently halt innovation.

For more information and a full recording of the ChatBot Launch Event, click

Written by Bonnie Hassanzadeh, IPilogue Editor and Clinic Fellow at Osgoode Innovation Clinic.

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