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.Ěý

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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My placement at CBC was part of Osgoode’s Intellectual Property Law & Technology Intensive Program, which is an innovative practicum program allowing students to gain specialized experience through a placement at an IP law-based organization. When I began my internship, I was given a crash course in the practice of IP, media, and business law. It was hard to say which of these practice groups were my favourite because I gleaned so much during my time working in each, and each practice area helped me identify my future career interests.

From the IP angle, copyright and copyright infringement analysis were areas that I grew very familiar with during my internship. From writing research memos and researching recent fair dealing cases, to crafting arguments as part of a fair dealing analysis, I got a fair amount of dealings relating to copyright. My IP experience also included trademark research that dealt with determining what constitutes trademark use. This trademark research gave me an opportunity to appreciate the business strategy behind managing a brand like CBC and just how journalism plays a role in that brand.

As a longstanding and huge fan of CBC’s Marketplace, I was over the moon when one of the media lawyers at CBC invited me to vet a script for an episode. I got to see the underbelly of one of my favourite shows, and I saw what kind of research is done to prepare for such an episode. I learned to scan the script for any instances of potential copyright infringement and defamation claims that could be made against CBC. This led to sitting in on a summary judgement hearing between CBC and Subway, over a previous that may or may not have had something to do with chicken. This was the first time I ever attended court, and I got to see first hand the inspiring skill behind oral advocacy.

My internship did also comprise of other learning experiences outside of Marketplace. I got to conduct research on impartiality and journalistic integrity leading up to the suit that CBC filed against the Federal Conservative Party. This was the second of three litigation processes that I was involved in during my internship. The third and perhaps most notable litigation, was CBC’s role as an intervenor in a defamation case at the Supreme Court of Canada. I had the privilege of attending court in Ottawa with the media lawyers on a case that will hopefully clarify and redefine anti-SLAPP standards. Leading up to the big day, I watched the counsel meticulously craft their arguments, perfect each phrase, and practice delivering arguments.

The business side of IP and media law at CBC had me reviewing licensing agreements, drafting clauses, and learning about how licensing agreements can impact copyright and the relationships between different media corporations. If someone had told me I would enjoy reviewing contracts before my time at CBC, I would have laughed in their face.

The most meaningful part of my internship was the mentorship the CBC lawyers provided me. I was always welcome to discuss legal issues for further guidance, but the mentorship I received went far beyond that. I was encouraged to pursue extra-curricular activities related to IP, given invaluable law school and career advice. A conversation I had with my supervisor, Dan Ciraco early on in my internship helped me develop a key part of my Master’s thesis, something I am very grateful for and I appreciate the hours of stress that Dan saved me.

All the lawyers I met through my CBC placement told me how they wished they had the opportunity to take a course like the IP Intensive while they were in law school. I recognize that my CBC internship was a once in a lifetime experience and I am very thankful to my CBC supervisor Dan Ciraco, IP Osgoode, Professor D’Agostino, and Professor Vaver.

Written by Julianna Felendzer, Osgoode JD Candidate, enrolled in Professors D’Agostino and Vaver 2019/2020 IP & Technology Law Intensive Program at Osgoode Hall Law School. As part of the program requirements, students were asked to write a reflective blog on their internship experience.

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In the Facebook- Cambridge Analytica scandal, people’s personal information was harvested without their consent and was used to create “psychographic”[1] profiles that were then used as part of political manipulation in the Brexit vote, as well as the 2016 American Election.[2] More recently, Facebook was caught outsourcing the transcription of audio-chats that occurred in Facebook Messenger to contractors working as a third-party, thus exposing the private conversations of those Facebook users who had opted into the transcription service offered by Facebook.[3]

But the collection of data occurs in all aspects of daily life not just through social media. A statistician working for Target explained how the retailer kept tabs on its customers’ purchasing habits and tried to target (no pun intended) pregnant women based on their purchasing patterns.[4] This led to a father learning that his teenage daughter was pregnant after Target sent maternity flyers addressed to the teen. These instances highlight the lack of consumer awareness, truly informed consent, and control that people have over their own information. This is a huge issue as “data flakes off us like dead skin cells”[5] and in those moments corporations should not be profiting.

To address the issue of data exploitation, the European Union has implemented the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”)[6] that aims to protect a citizen’s privacy and increase the amount of control an individual has over their own data. The GDPR also addresses the transfer of EU citizens’ personal data outside of the EU in jurisdictions like Canada, that don’t have equivalent legislation already in place. Currently, the federal government has a measly two pieces of legislation governing Canadian’s privacy and personal data, the [7] and the (“P±ő±Ę·ˇ¶Ů´ˇâ€ť).[8] The Privacy Act applies to federal institutions and is meant to govern “a person’s right to access and correct personal information that the [Canadian] Government […] holds about them” while PIPEDA oversees the private sector. However, neither of these provide resources to Canadians to educate themselves or protect their data. PIPEDA outlines “”[10] but these fail to provide avenues for consumers to seek recourse when their privacy has been violated, or ways of monitoring and protecting their privacy. Canadians might be protected by the patch-work privacy laws that provinces have enacted, or the set by some Canadian courts.[11] Canada lags in data protection and empowering people to control their data.

This becomes increasingly important in the discussion of autonomous vehicles which are an emerging area of data collection. Data will need to be collected to ensure the safe operation of these vehicles and to prevent security breaches that could be exploited by ill-meaning entities. to the advancement of autonomous vehicles, but it is unclear what data has been collected, and how this data has been collected.[12] Deployment of these vehicles doesn’t make clear how future data will be collected and used but could lead to the evisceration of privacy altogether, which could have devastating consequences. I believe that in order to successfully and safely integrate autonomous vehicles, rigorous data regulation must first be developed and well-established before the day that my future car drives me to my destination.

The Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal threatened democracy, and now the potential improper collection and management of data could threaten our physical safety in the form of autonomous vehicles. The type of successful data regulation I foresee ought to require the informed consent, control, and awareness of consumers that the data collection is occurring.[13] No longer should “Terms and Condition” pages or mandatory cookie tracking agreements be used to exploit the average internet user.

Ěý

Written by Julianna Felendzer, Osgoode JD Candidate, enrolled in Professors D’Agostino and Vaver 2019/2020 IP & Technology Law Intensive Program at Osgoode Hall Law School. As part of the course requirements, students were asked to write a blog on a topic of their choice.

[1] Psychographic profiles rely on a consumer’s psychological characteristics to describe them, this encapsulates values, opinions, attitudes, interests, and lifestyles and can be used to personalize advertising. ĚýSee William D. Wells, “Psychographics: A critical review” (1975) Journal of Marketing Research 12 at 196.

[2] Issie Lapowsky, “How Cambridge Analytica Sparked the Great Privacy Awakening”, WIRED (17 March 2019), online: <www.wired.com> [perma.cc/VL7T-FRE6].

[3] Sarah Jeong, “No, Facebook Is Not Secretly Listening to You”, New 91ŃÇÉ« Times (20 August 2019), online: <www.nytimes.com> [perma.cc/8C9M-3E3F].

[4] Charles Duhigg, “How Companies Learn Your Secrets”, New 91ŃÇÉ« Times (16 February 2012) online: <www.nytimes.com> [perma.cc/ENG8-D47Z].

[5] Charlie Warzel, “The High Stakes of Living Online”, New 91ŃÇÉ« Times (6 August 2019), online: <www.nytimes.com> [perma.cc/JP7Q-D7KZ].

[6] EC, Commission Regulation (EC) 679/2016 of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation), [2016] OJ, L 119/1.

[7] Privacy Act, RSC 1985, c P-21.

[8] ĚýPersonal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, SC 2000, c 5.

[9] Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, “Summary of privacy laws in Canada”, online: <www.priv.gc.ca>Ěý [perma.cc/PC8J-XNJY].

[10] Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, “PIPEDA fair information principles”, online: <www.priv.gc.ca> [perma.cc/5W8C-4ZYU].

[11] Douez v Facebook, Inc., 2017 SCC 33 [Douez].

[12] ĚýMagnolia Potter, “Big Data’s Role in Self-Driving Car Development” (5 April 2019), online: <www.insidebigdata.com> [perma.cc/CU5J-983F]. See also Bernard Marr, “BMW: Using Big Data And Artificial Intelligence To Create Autonomous Cars”, online: <www.bernardmarr.com> [perma.cc/Q62M-6BWA].

[13] Lucille Perreault, “Big Data and Privacy: Control and Awareness Aspects”(Paper delivered at the International Conference on Information Resources Management (CONF-IRM), Ottawa, 20 May 2015) [unpublished].

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