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Meena Alnajar is an IPilogue Writer, IP Innovation Clinic Fellow, and a 2L JD Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School.

In March 2021, Rogers Communication Inc. announced an upcoming to buy Shaw Communications Inc for a US$26 billion takeover. If successful, Rogers will become Canada’s -largest cellular and cable company operator. Canada would resultingly have wireless providers to choose from instead of four. This deal is now facing opposition from some of Canada’s key regulatory powers. On March 3 2022, Canada’s of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Francois-Phillippe Champagne stated that “The wholesale transfer of Shaw’s wireless licenses to Rogers is fundamentally incompatible with our government’s policies for spectrum and mobile service competition, and I will simply not permit it.” But why should Canada prevent industries from extremely profitable mergers and acquisitions?

Ottawa’s main concern with this deal is the monopolization of essential services like cell phones and Internet. With a monopoly, Rogers is free to raise prices because no other competitor could offer a better price matching Rogers’ breadth of services. Many are concerned that they will not be able to compete with Rogers, and consumers worry they will suffer higher cell phone prices without other options. Rogers gave an assurance that it would not raise prices until at least years after the deal’s closing. But that assurance may not be enough to stop Rogers from continuing to competitors in the future, leaving fewer choices for Canadian consumers. Financial analysts acknowledge that while the government may try to reject the deal, the government’s statements are not necessarily fatal. predict that the deal will close, but, to maintain competition in the industry, Rogers will not be able to buy all of Shaw’s wireless business.

The Rogers-Shaw deal is likely moving ahead. On March 24, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (“CRTC”) Rogers’ acquisition. The CRTC stated that, subject to modifications, Rogers’ proposal would not unduly affect Canada’s competitive landscape. The CRTC made stipulations to its approval that could once again balance Rogers’ acquisition and fair competition in the wireless service marketplace. Rogers will contribute towards various initiatives promoting local news and independent projects. Rogers must also create an news team with journalists in all provinces to provide news content to First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities. These stipulations could help stimulate local journalism and production companies, addressing concerns regarding the survival of local wireless services after this big merger.

While Canadian government officials seek to discourage anti-competitive behaviours, Canada’s Competition Act was last reviewed in . Since then, Internet giants like Google, Facebook, and Amazon have often participated in anti-competitive practices online to dominate the marketplace. In Canada, Google and Facebook pocket of online advertising revenues, yet no laws have come in to stop them. Minister Francois-Phillippe Champagne announced on , to modernize competition law through legislative reform of the Competition Act. Through a broad review, the Competition Bureau has suggested changing the in the current competition law. This defence saves mergers that harm competition so long as the deal creates cost savings or other efficiency gains. Rogers may rely on this defence to keep the deal moving forward. Though not yet rejected, the Rogers-Shaw deal may be a catalyst for Minister Francois-Phillippe Champagne to implement changes to competitive practices.

The post The Wi-Fi is A, B, or C—the Rogers-Shaw Deal: Limiting choice in a wireless marketplace? appeared first on IPOsgoode.

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Meena Alnajar is an IPilogue Writer, IP Innovation Clinic Fellow, and a 2L JD Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School.

2021 was a big year for innovation and small businesses—venture capital (“VC”) funding reached an all-time high with higher funding in the US than the total raised in 2020. are investors who provide funds to small businesses and start-ups that exhibit exceptional growth potential based on market studies. In return, investors get equity in the company and may have a say in future decisions. It is an increasingly and fast way to fund new businesses. Yet despite this growth, women-founded companies receive just a small cut of this large investment. In particular, women-founded companies earned only percent of the . What stands between women’s ideas and the capital that helps them flourish? Industry barriers and sociocultural changes may provide some answers.

With unemployment on the rise, several studies find women are disproportionately affected by industry setbacks. A study found that women were 1.8 times more vulnerable to lose work than men in the pandemic, which may have made investors nervous to fund many women-led businesses this year. Beyond the pandemic context, some attitudes within the VC industry that may also drive the disparity between men and women’s VC funding.

In the industry, gender stereotypes not only create a barrier to hiring women in the start-up space, but also seek to discredit a woman’s value when pursuing certain ventures. For instance, , CEO and Co-Founder of the venture-backed tech company Vivoom, noted that “Male VCs … are very comfortable now giving female entrepreneurs capital for ”, like the stereotypical household and baby products, but hesitate to fund cutting-edge software and technology founded by women. While women are now welcome in the venture space, there seems to be only certain rooms they can enter if they want to be well-funded by male VCs. Those in control of the funds seemingly control the gender disparity in VC funding of certain companies. Could the solution to the disparity be to encourage more women to act as investors?

The disparity in funding women-led ventures could stem from the fact that women make up only 6.3% of investors, based on . However, simply including more women as investors is unlikely to alleviate the disparity observed in VC funding. Women-identifying investors face problems when attempting to back ventures. Since women also experience gender disparity in business leadership, women who are investors are less likely to have been . Entrepreneurs to accept money from (and relinquish equity to) investors without this experience. The proportion of women as venture capitalists is not the only issue; how women venture capitalists are perceived by entrepreneurs is also problematic. On the surface, women-identifying VCs have investment success rates than men. Upon further examination, this performance difference is venture selection, but rather the VC firm’s features such as . Selecting women-identifying investors is not a proven solution to alleviating gender disparity. However, co-workers and entrepreneurs supporting women investors in their work environments can further women-led VC success.

The gender disparity affects several stages of the VC pipeline, from investor disparities to the lack of women-led VC in prominent sectors like tech. To close this gap, business institutes recommend of a small business. For example, if a start-up classifies itself as a social impact venture, investors should utilize the peer-assessment model instead of estimating capital flow to determine the “investability” of that venture. In addition, having positions may overcome stereotypes and biases from investors by providing evidence that women can lead successful businesses.

The gender disparity not only hinders women-led VC potential but also dismisses women-led VC’s success in the market. found that women-led start-ups can deliver high revenues, nearly twice the amount of every dollar invested. Further, women-led businesses are to employ women and their businesses are more likely to focus on and employee relationships. When you invest in women, it propagates into more opportunities for women and positive contributions to societal issues like labour relations. Limiting women’s access to funding could deprive us from innovative ideas and employment opportunities. Women have been driving exceptional businesses in the last decade and can continue to do so with greater investment. VCs should therefore consider looking beyond stereotypes and invest in women, to invest in better futures.

The post The Future is Funding? Women Receive Just 2% From a Big VC Funding Year appeared first on IPOsgoode.

Natalie Bravo is an IPilogue Writer and a 2L JD Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School.

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Do you ever get weird emails that are poorly-veiled attempts? Strange requests for payments? These phishing attempts are occurring more frequently, but they are just the tip of the ransomware iceberg. Cybersecurity breaches are a serious concern and the ever-evolving technological landscape is an endless playing field for dedicated malicious actors. Widespread breaches exemplify the need to updated software and security policies across all sectors which use online services. With the pandemic and many working from home, these attacks are on the rise. The Canadian Centre for Cybersecurity reported that ransomware is an and

Many Canadians have not heard of , a malicious software (“”) that attacks computers by user files so that malicious actors can request monetary ransom to decrypt or unlock the files. These are typically, though not always, carried out by an unauthorized or unknown transfer of a Users may download and/or open a file that appears legitimate and unknowingly infect the operating system with malware. Accompanying ransom demands are usually requested in the form of Bitcoin due to the presumed anonymity of the transactions. The use of Bitcoin is rampant in these types of attacks – so much so that they have impacted (“K�۰�”) . Sometimes hackers . In a recent report, McCarthy Tétrault’s Cyber/Data Group estimated that Canadian organizations . Ransomware attacks damaging more than finances as they can disrupt operations and corrupt or destroy sensitive data. During the pandemic, hospitals are of utmost concern. The click of an ad, a visit to a website, or a simple file download could risk your data.

In 2017, a high-profile ransomware attack named devastated various organizations worldwide. The automatically spread throughout networkers and did not require users to open or download any files. It encrypted user files and demanded Bitcoin ransom payments to decrypt them. WannaCry targeted “end of life” or outdated versions of and exploited certain vulnerabilities within the software. Operating systems must frequently be updated to implement security patches that prevent such exploits. However, updates for older computers are usually discontinued as technology progresses. Microsoft quickly released further following the mass attack. The international event was and reported to have impacted more than 200,000 computer systems and caused an estimated hundreds of millions to billions of dollars in damage. The WannaCry attack affected organizations such as factories, telecommunication companies, hospitals, governments, and delivery systems. Years later, ��

WannaCry was terrifying when it happened, but many more concerning high-profile cybersecurity attacks have occurred ��within the past year . Just imagine . Some alarming events in the past three months include the following:

• In May 2021, the largest petroleum pipeline in the United States, Colonial Pipeline is reported to have been hacked via a . The password had access to the company’s internal network and was also unfortunately leaked on the dark web. The hackers utilized the credential to attack and extort Colonial Pipeline. The systems started to shut down and the ransom demanded was $4.4 million in payment. The company stated they had no choice but to
• In June 2021, one of the largest meat producers in the US, JBS made the difficult decision to pay the $11 million USD ransom in Bitcoin to resume plant operations.
• On July 4^th, 2021, the ‘,’ allegedly conducted by Russian-associated hackers REvil, hit during the US holiday weekend. Kaseya, a software firm, was targeted in the . Supply-chain attacks, in brief terms, involve compromising a trusted supplier therefore sabotaging the distribution system. The Kaseya attack largely affected US businesses, but Canada was also impacted. Between 800 and 1,500 organizations across the globe were impacted and essentially paralyzed. They demanded from affected users/companies and expressed some willingness to .

It is difficult to know what will happen next with technology, computers, and software. It is best to be proactive and cautious. I have compiled some tips, supported by and the , to help keep your data and your employer’s networks safe:

• Check your computer(s) for updates frequently, and make sure your operating system is still receiving new updates.
• Back up your data periodically and preferably offline. If you are targeted and your data becomes inaccessible, you will feel so much better knowing you had a back-up or two handy.
• Make sure you are running a trusted anti-virus program, sometimes they are installed on your computer.
• Understand how to your data in the event of a breach and practice the recovery methods.
• Keep your passwords safe and unique - reusing passwords is never a good idea.
• Familiarize yourself with common types and methods of malware. You can find a handy list .
• Contact your organization’s IT department whenever you see anything suspicious, just in case.

Stay safe, don’t interact with strange emails, and always update and backup if possible! Feel free to comment below any tips or advice you may have.

The post Cyber Horrors: Ransomware and You appeared first on IPOsgoode.

This post was originally published on YSpace.

The Collision Conference is North America’s fastest growing tech conference – taking a forward-looking approach to connect the tech industry with every other industry in the world. Typically, attendees must pay $79 to attend this annual event. For the second year in a row, Innovation 91��ɫ and the Student Success Office are joining forces to offer 91��ɫ students the exclusive opportunity to claim one free ticket (with 100 total tickets available on a first-come, first-served basis). The event will take place on April 20-22, 2021.��

To claim your free ticket, you must become a 91��ɫ Digital Ambassador!

To become a YU Digital Ambassador: complete the 3 steps, and the form below by 11:59pm – Friday March 26, 2021.��

1. Follow at least 2 of these accounts on Instagram: @yspaceyu, @ellawomenyu, @schulichstartups, @bestlassonde, @studentlifeyu, @yorkulaps, @c4.capstone, @lassondeschool, @collisionconfhq or follow @IPOsgoode on Twitter
2. Subscribe to at least 1 of these newsletters:
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3. Post your best startup/business idea on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook with the hashtags #YUDigitalAmbassador and #CollisionFromHome and tag @yspaceyu and @collisionconfhq (@CollisionHQ on Twitter and @collisionconf on Facebook)

Once you have completed the 3 steps above, to receive your FREE 2021 Collision Ticket.

Tickets will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis while quantities last, so act fast!

The post COLLISION CONFERENCE 2021 – HOW TO CLAIM YOUR FREE TICKET appeared first on IPOsgoode.