Cynthia Zhang is a 3L JD Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School. This article was written as a requirement for Prof. Pina D’Agostino’s IP Intensive Program.

As a student of Osgoode’s Intellectual Property Law and Technology Intensive for the Fall 2022 semester, I had the opportunity to complete an internship placement at Ontario’s public educational broadcaster, TVO. Most people who, like me, grew up in Ontario in the 90s-2000s likely consider after school snacks and a core memory. Besides its classic properties like Polkaroo and Today’s Special, TVO also produces The Agenda, a current affairs daily, and offers accredited educational services and products. I was a member of the Legal Services and Business Affairs team under the supervision of Patricia Cavalhier, Director of Legal Services at TVO.

I was pleased to be able to attend onsite two days each week. Besides TVO offices, the building at 2180 Yonge also houses TVO’s studios, editing and content production facilities. I tagged along on a site tour with a group of new hires and was able to see some archival sets and props, the costume department, editing studios, as well as the sets of The Agenda and other TVO in-house productions. The industry-specific ecosystem is one notable difference between a role as in-house counsel versus a practitioner in a law firm.

By far the most engaging project I worked on during my placement was the publication of a set of official marks for TVO. I was fortunate to have begun my internship at the same time as the rollout of an organizational rebrand. This resulted in new logo designs and new programming branding, all of which needed to be protected via a trademark-related process. Official marks are a system unique to Canada and operate pursuant to section 9(1)(n)(iii) of the Trademarks Act, RSC 1985, c T-13. They are “published” by the Registrar of Trademarks as opposed to being “registered” like trademarks. They can only be owned by a public authority, an organization under substantial government control that provides a public benefit, such as TVO. The actual process of publishing official marks is very different to obtaining registration of a trademark. I was surprised to find that the feat could be accomplished simply by sending a one-page request form to the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO). This would then need to be followed up with proof of public authority and proof of use or public display of the mark itself.

Additionally, I discovered that it was quite easy to speak with a trademark examiner at CIPO to receive advice on section 9 procedure. I was able to interact with the examiner via both email and phone, and he was very accessible and willing to help on multiple occasions. Having worked in an accounting setting which involved constant interaction with CRA, this level of approachability from a government entity came as a shock to me.

Prior to law school, I worked in an entertainment context in various capacities but without experience in broadcast media. My placement at TVO taught me how such an organization functions internally. I spent time with acquisitions officers and understood their day-to-day processes, including how licensing agreements are generated and negotiated, something which I had only experienced from the opposite party’s perspective during my summer law student roles. I was also interested to learn of some unique considerations for this type of broadcaster, including stringent compliance with Canadian Media Fund requirements regarding fund allocation, programming characteristics, and diversity and inclusion.

Toward the end of my placement, I found it gratifying to be able to design a “best practices” guideline for TVO’s content team regarding IP considerations and social media. I learned that although content production staff generally understands the wide strokes of copyright and trademark, they can still easily get caught up on nuances which could result in a claim of infringement or similar. I was able to compose a guideline that provided points to be mindful of and specific advice on use of Creative Commons licensed content, including careful attribution. I left feeling as if I had contributed concretely to the operation of the organization, at least in this small way.

My internship at TVO gave me beneficial insight into the daily life of in-house counsel as well as how a broadcast media organization operates in the changing media landscape today. It is clear that TVO is embracing and exploring different avenues for the future of their business, as is evident from their recent partnerships with popular brands like and the . I am grateful to Professor Pina D’Agostino and my supervisor for making this experience happen.

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This past fall, I completed an internship at TVO as part of Osgoode Hall Law School’s Intellectual Property Law and Technology Intensive Program (IP Intensive). TVO is one of Ontario’s foremost educational television networks, making it an ideal destination for anyone interested in broadcasting. Operating under the Ontario Educational Communications Authority (OECA), TVO has been delivering thought-provoking documentaries, in-depth current affairs and children’s programming to Canadian households for over fifty years. In addition, the company has also recently begun offering digital education services geared towards elementary and high school students. Through products such as Mathify and the Independent Learning Centre (ILC), children can access remote tutoring and complete courses for credit towards their OSSD. During my ten-week placement, I gained invaluable experience working under the direct supervision of TVO’s in-house counsel, Mark Le Blanc (General Counsel) and Patricia Cavalhier (Legal Counsel). I am truly grateful to have had an opportunity to work with them this semester.

Drafting Agreements

During my first few days at TVO, I was introduced to the company’s acquisition officers. In addition to producing original content, TVO partners with co-producers and licenses the rights to programs created by independent third parties. TVO’s acquisition officers are primarily responsible for brokering these deals. I had several opportunities to work with them throughout the semester, revising agreements and updating their templates’ standard terms and conditions. These tasks enabled me to improve my legal drafting skills while simultaneously gaining insight into the Canadian broadcasting industry. Along the way, I was introduced to standard industry practices, terminology and guidelines.

Privacy and Access to Information Requests

TVO is currently in the process of updating its privacy policies and procedures. The company is in a unique position because it is not subject to either the Personal Information and Electronic Documents Act (“PIPEDA”) or the Privacy Act. Nonetheless, TVO is eager to facilitate access to personal information requests and wants to be prepared in case it becomes captured by new federal privacy laws. I am very interested in privacy rights, so I was ecstatic when my supervisors asked me to review and summarize Bill C-11 for them. Although Bill C-11 recently died on the order of paper, Parliament will likely introduce some variation of the Bill when it updates Canada’s federal privacy law regime. While reviewing Bill C-11, I also had an opportunity to review Canada’s current privacy laws. I have a much better understanding of this area of law now as a result.

CASL

Another interesting area of law that I was previously unfamiliar with but had an opportunity to dive into this semester was Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL). A manager from TVO’s marketing department came to my supervisors with a question concerning emails and implied consent and I was asked to review CASL and help respond to the inquiry. The question itself related to a grey area of law, so we had to be very careful when drafting our response. One of in-house counsel’s primary goals is to mitigate risk, so it is important to consider all outcomes when responding to legal questions. In addition to reviewing CASL, I also searched for case law addressing the marketing department’s activities.

Workplace Dynamic

I only had a couple of opportunities to visit TVO’s office in person this semester but was still able to forge close relationships with my coworkers and never felt like an outsider. Despite working remotely, my supervisors made a concerted effort to ensure I was comfortable by scheduling weekly coffee chats and giving me opportunities to speak during meetings. Moreover, they never asked me to complete arbitrary assignments. My supervisors always provided me with background information about the tasks I was completing, which made me feel as though I was making meaningful contributions to their team.

Overall, I had a wonderful experience at TVO and couldn’t be happier with how my placement unfolded. My supervisors exposed me to the broadcasting industry and areas of law I had not yet encountered up until that point during my time in law school. If you are reading this reflection with your sights set on Osgoode Hall Law School’s IP Intensive, I highly recommend applying to TVO.

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TVO operates in a fairly unique position as both a public broadcaster and an educational institution, thus exposing me to a highly diverse range of legal questions and issues. I wasn’t just dealing with the challenges of a public broadcaster, but also with those of an institution that regularly hired and supervised teachers, markers and tutors. I don’t think any other organization would have given me the chance to work on both a rights agreement with an independent producer and a contract-for-service with a prospective teacher. Both elements of the organization presented unique challenges for me to overcome.

Working with an organization that deals with such a diverse range of clients made me realize the challenge of legal writing for different audiences. One of the biggest challenges when it came to drafting standard agreements was the balance between formal legal writing as I had been taught in law school and the more ease-of-access focused writing that was the norm in everyday business. The contracts needed to be easily understood by a small independent producer or young tutor with no legal background, but also needed to be airtight enough that it wouldn’t cause major pushback from a lawyer working for a larger production company.

Learning how to tailor your writing to your audience was something I learned to employ not just with work meant for external clients but also within the TVO organization itself. In the midst of larger projects, I was often assigned smaller tasks to deal with various legal questions that would arise from within the organization. In addition to allowing me to tackle an extremely wide variety of legal areas with practical experience, these tasks also served as another reminder of how important learning to cater your legal writing to your intended audience can be, even in something as relatively minor as answering simple legal questions.

Part of the job of the legal team at a large organization like TVO is also to educate their employees and keep them up to date on anything in the legal field that might affect their operations. One of the projects I worked on was helping to create an updated FAQ on fair dealing, one that would be easily digestible for those in the organization without needing further explanation by someone from the legal team. This allowed me to bring up points that wouldn’t necessarily occur to someone without a legal background – the difference between the terms “fair dealing” and “fair use” for example, or how fair dealing is a user’s right – and explain them in layman’s term while still ensuring the concepts would be properly understood. This in turn increased my own understanding of these concepts.

The longer I spent at TVO, the more I began to learn about and ascribe to the philosophy of the - an ideal that my supervisor Mark Le Blanc has espoused. The “ T” in the “T-shaped” lawyer describes their interconnected skillset – hard legal skills form the stem of the T, and the top cross represents the more business-associated skills ranging from project management to data analysis. My experience with TVO not only let me harden my nascent legal skills by practically applying what I had learned in the classroom but also to develop the broader skills of risk management and problem solving that are not taught in law school. The most valuable part of my experience was getting the chance to see how these two skillsets intersect and allowing me to experience that intersection between law and business for myself.

��Written by Harris Khan, JD Candidate 2021, enrolled in Professors D’Agostino and Vaver 2020/2021 IP & Technology Law Intensive Program at Osgoode Hall Law School. As part of the course requirements, students were asked to write a reflective blog on their internship experience.

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, like many other broadcasters, (co)produces or acquires a variety of television shows through various licensing agreements. During my internship at TVO, I learned about the behind the scenes work that goes into making and acquiring the TVO shows and content that Ontarians love. I specifically learned about Canadian Content (“CanCon”). For viewers, CanCon is likely a background issue, but for broadcasters, it is an important fact of business. CanCon refers to content that is produced in Canada by Canadians. Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission licenses and production funding (like the Canadian Media Fund) are often dependent on establishing where the content is produced. Working at TVO brought this illusory issue to light for me, which as a viewer I never really considered.

Under the supervision of the general counsel, I reviewed various co-production and acquisition contracts and had the experience to draft several of my own. I learned about the importance of interdepartmental cooperation and coordination to ensure relevant departments know what their contracts entail and to be surveyed for changes. Through this consultation process, user experience should be emphasized. If personnel within the organization cannot understand what their contract says what hope do others have?

Working in-house, there was a significant emphasis on the need for lay-language in contracts. Generally, lay language improves contract readability and minimizes risks by ensuring that both parties understand the specific rights of the contract. Lay language is especially important for “template” or “precedent” contracts that are often relied upon and reused by organizations. Often it is impracticable to draft each and every contract from scratch because of the unnecessary consumption of time and resources. When dealing with repeat similar issues, a general bank of clauses is important to expedite and simplify contract drafting. A template with a generic set of rights ensures consistency of interactions with producers, rights obtained, and minimizes the need for extraneous involvement of legal counsel. Moreover, issue spotting can become simplified with the use of templates. If one contract highlights issues with a clause, one can reasonably assume that it will be an issue with others and the organization can prepare a response or modify the contract to resolve the issue for future contracts.

Interestingly, TVO was not all that I anticipated or remembered – it was not the simple public broadcaster I remembered from my childhood. TVO, like the entertainment industry in general, is ever-changing. The ability to watch videos on handheld devices was a pipe dream 50 years ago, but it is now commonplace. New contracts emphasize the importance of digital media through videos on demand (VODs) and streaming, in addition to traditional interpretations of broadcast right through cable television. TVO now boasts several Youtube channels that host its content in addition to TVO hosting content on its own website.

Beyond the familiar polka dot door of television content, TVO also offers digital education content. TVO’s digital education portfolio includes the Independent Learning Centre (distance learning for high school students), Mathify (student-to-teacher video mentoring), and mPower (math-focused games for children in elementary school). My time at TVO taught me the importance for public broadcasters and government organizations to adapt to new technologies to stay relevant.

Written by Christopher Tsuji, 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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Fortunately, my knowledge of the Canadian television production financing and funding models let me adapt to some tasks very quickly: specifically, those related to co-production of television programs. TVO co-produces its children’s and documentary programming with Canadian independent producers. In our meetings with commissioning editors, I understood the business challenges and the risks inherent in the co-production cycle. Because I knew the nature and purpose of the deal terms, I could collaborate with the business affairs team more effectively as we reviewed and revised co-production agreements.

However, my expertise only led me so far. As various business units reached out to the legal team for advice, I began the difficult transition from legal expert to risk manager. Inhouse lawyers act as risk barometers for a business. Their capacity to advise on risks develops through helping the business units achieve their goals. While ten weeks is not enough time to develop a mastery of TVO’s risk profile, I became more accustomed to how each business unit assesses risk. Most importantly, I learned a life-lesson for all lawyers: despite your best efforts to communicate risks, it is ultimately the client’s call whether to proceed.

Through this process, I also refined how to communicate risks more effectively. At first, I overcompensated and overcommunicated by enumerating every possible risk in the finest detail with references and alternatives. With guidance from the legal team, I massaged my lengthy analysis into shorter point form summaries with concise risk assessments. Eventually, in contexts where I had the requisite depth of knowledge, I outlined how the business unit could mitigate these risks, which they greatly appreciated.

Because TVO is a user, producer and licensor of copyrighted materials, I assisted the legal team with a diverse set of intellectual property matters. Again, this meant translating my legal expertise into meaningful advice to the business units. While preparing for a Fair Dealing presentation to the journalists and producers of TVO’s current affairs programming units, I consulted with them to ensure that I could communicate our fair dealing policy to resonate with their lived experience. In addition to drafting licensing agreements and quasi-intellectual property agreements, such as releases, I helped TVO defend the reputation of its trade-mark mascot, the Polkaroo,

I hoped that the IP intensive would provide real world exposure to how seasoned professionals navigate the intersection of law and business. I was not disappointed. At TVO, I witnessed how its legal team advises provides strategic guidance to avoid legal action. Participating in these discussions shifted my mindset away from legal action as the solution to merely an option. Indeed, this perspective imbued TVO’s approach to contracting. When revising or drafting new templates, we aimed to reduce contract friction: those provisions and rights that would unnecessarily prolong the negotiation process. This way contracts operate as a managerial device and planning document in addition to a legal mechanism to protect TVO’s rights. This internship has forever reoriented my conception of contracting

When I chose to pivot my career to law, I chose Osgoode Hall Law School because of its experiential programs, specifically, the IP Intensive Program. I can truly say that this internship is the culmination of my time at Osgoode. I synthesized my legal education and previous experience in a practical context with the feedback and guidance to help align my perspective with those of my future clients. I am forever grateful to TVO for welcoming me onto their team and allowing me to help Ontarians never stop learning.

Written by Cameron McMaster.�� Cameron is a JD Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School and was enrolled in Osgoode’s Intellectual Property Law and Technology Intensive Program. As part of the program requirements, students were asked to write a reflective blog on their internship experience.

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TVO is both a registered charitable non-profit organization, and a crown corporation, but it only receives about a third of its funding from the province. The rest of its budget is comprised primarily of donations and self-generated revenue. Though most of TVO’s education, broadcasting, and philanthropy teams operate within their own spheres, each strives to produce cutting edge digital educational courses, educational content, and community engagement initiatives, to develop self-generated revenue which is subsequently reinvested in TVO.

Working closely with two in-house counsel lawyers and a team of business affairs officers, I was called upon to perform research and offer advice on a variety of projects. For me, the greatest value in this internship was the breadth of experience I received from not only advising on copyright and trademark matters, but also from plunging headfirst into a diverse variety of development projects from the various working groups within TVO. I was called upon to provide input on everything from; researching SOCAN fees for TVO’s YouTube channels, advising on lease agreements, drafting copyright clearance extensions for content offered through the Independent Learning Center (TVO’s distance education branch), creating PowerPoint presentations explaining how Privacy legislation and Accessibility legislation affect TVO’s business operations, and everything in between.

For example, when I began my placement in September, TVO had just unveiled its brand new, innovative math based educational tool; mPower. This educational tool is helping educators make a profound impact in their ability to engage students by building fundamental knowledge of math concepts through an immersive video game virtual world. Some of my responsibilities for this project included providing feedback on copyright clearance questions regarding the outsourcing of voice over content in the game, to fielding concerns from the IT department regarding the applicability of Ontario’s new accessibility laws for public service organizations, and whether this legislation would affect TVO’s ability to promote mPower. It was very satisfying for me to help advise on this project that was having such a positive impact in children’s educational development.

This isn’t to say that I wasn’t involved in a substantial amount of IP work either, quite the contrary. Although I was supporting in-house counsel’s oversight of the business operations affecting TVO at large (which required a rapid grasp of many legal concepts fairly quickly – a challenging and exciting dilemma), much of my time at TVO was spent dealing with IP issues. These included reviewing copyright license agreements, negotiating TVO’s website and YouTube streaming rights for broadcast acquisitions, and providing research and advice on a pressing trademark dispute, which was by far the most exciting IP issue I engaged with.

Though TVO’s brand maintains a widely respected reputation as being extremely above board, this does not mean that TVO won’t vigorously defend their official marks if they are being infringed. This dispute provided me an exciting opportunity to look closely at section 9 of the Trade-Marks Act, which outlines the unique protection awarded official marks in Canada. Through my research I was able to provide in-depth advice on how the adoption and use analysis for official marks differs from trademarks, and provide context regarding recent judicial trends addressing this distinction with greater scrutiny. I was also tasked with creating a first draft of a statement of claim for infringement of this official mark. Working to help resolve this issue was certainly one of the highlights of my internship, as my input formed part of the first line of attack, so to speak, taking the lead on the initial legal research and argumentation to support TVO’s position.

In the end this internship provided me incredible insight into what it takes to succeed as in-house legal counsel to a public broadcaster. My time at TVO gave me an array of practical skills that I would have never gleaned from a classroom. Being immersed in TVO’s culture of ‘Never Stop Learning’ is without a doubt the guiding paradigm that helped me get the most from my placement, and will continue to inspire me as I develop my legal career.

Dan Cook is a JD Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School and was enrolled in Osgoode’s Intellectual Property Law and Technology Intensive Program. As part of the program requirements, students were asked to write a reflective blog on their internship experience

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Falling under the Ontario Ministry of Education, TVO is a Crown Agency whose mandate is to provide an alternative source of public education in the province. The organization has created a strong reputation in the province for providing content that encourages its viewers to thoughtfully engage with the ideas they are presented. TVO is more than just a broadcaster. They are a public agency that provides an integral service within the province. They ensure that every Ontarian has the opportunity to be informed about the world around them, to think critically about the information they consume, and to engage in a journey of self growth and realization. TVO seeks to cultivate a class of thoughtful and responsible citizens. “Makes you think” isn’t merely a catchy slogan for marketing materials, it’s the guiding principle that shapes every decision made in the organization.

Immersed in an organizational culture that encourages its staff to invest in their own continued development, be it professional or otherwise, gave me the perfect environment in which to excel. I’ve always had this stubborn habit of wanting to figure things out for myself. I was the one in my family to tear everything apart just to see how it works then build it back together again – always with three less screws. Needless to say, I don’t particularly like a whole lot of hand holding. That being said, what I appreciated most about my time at TVO was the level of trust that was placed in me to accomplish each task with little to no micromanaging. I was given the freedom to find solutions to each challenge on my own. Even if I didn’t always get it right the first time around, I was never left to feel as though I had failed as there was even more value in learning from my mistakes. One of the most valuable skills I gained from this was the ability to gauge my limitations. I discovered when I felt confident moving forward on my own but also learned to recognize when to ask for guidance as I approached an area that was just beyond my capabilities.

My entire perspective on my relationship with the law was fundamentally changed as a result of my experience working at TVO. I came into this program with such a clear vision of where I wanted go and what I wanted to do that anything else outside of that didn’t even exist to me. But after being immersed in the day-to-day activities of TVO’s Legal Services and Business Affairs department, I was exposed to numerous different areas of law beyond just intellectual property. I was given projects that not only challenged me to make the appropriate recommendations, but to also quickly teach myself enough about each new area in order to fully appreciate the issue before me. Every day presented something different from the last and I became excited to find myself learning about real estate, CRTC regulations, CMF guidelines, advertising and contest rules, privacy law, and even pensions and trusts. It seems somewhat ironic that a passion for IP drove me to apply to this program and now as a result of having taken part I’m left wanting to explore other areas of the law. Spending ten weeks working in-house at TVO has opened my eyes to many new possibilities for my future.

This was truly such a positive experience for me. And a large part of that was a result of the TVO staff. I was made to feel welcome and a part of the group right from day one. The entire department supports each other as a whole and everyone from both Legal Services and Business Affairs were all too eager and willing to help guide and offer me advice. I feel lucky to say that I made friendships that will last well beyond my time spent at TVO.

Heather Pringle is a JD Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School and was enrolled in Osgoode’s Intellectual Property Law and Technology Intensive Program. As part of the program requirements, students were asked to write a reflective blog on their internship experience.

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I began my internship at TVOntario with no idea what was going on in meetings where everyone speaks in acronyms and abbreviations. It took about a hundred questions and google searches before I understood a single conversation. Once I began climbing my way up the learning curve, I gained a fascinating view of the Canadian broadcasting industry, from the vantage points of both legal issues and business interests. Due to the generosity and expertise of the lawyers, contract officers and development team at TVO, I gained a working understanding of:

• who the players are in the television industry
• how a Canadian broadcaster interacts with the regulatory scheme and
• what is involved in the day-to-day of getting Canadian content on the air.

My interest in the Intellectual Property Intensive sprouted from the excitement with which program alumni spoke about their placements. Students poured out recommendations��of the program based on fulfilling practical experiences at CBC, Canadian Heritage, The Globe & Mail and others; but for me, the most intriguing partner with IP Osgoode was TVO.�� In my application and interview for the IP Intensive, I articulated my desire to work with the broadcaster of children’s television, documentaries and current affairs programming. And the coordinators granted my request.

As an intern in TVO’s legal services and business affairs office, I worked directly with the in-house lawyers, contract officers and the development team. Everyone in the office was eager to make my experience an enriching one. They shared files, answered questions and pointed me towards resources to help me gain an understanding of their jobs and the issues they tackle. The Canadian broadcasting industry is governed by a detailed regulatory scheme, and every project that TVO acquires, makes or co-produces has to fit into that regulatory scheme.

Running a Canadian television station is a multi-tiered math problem, and the legal counsel works closely with the contract officers and development team to make sure that TVO:

• meets the minimums of Canadian content imposed by the Canadian Radio-television Commission (CRTC),
• budgets and produces within the guidelines of its Canadian Media Fund envelope, and
• creates content that educates and inspires the public, according to its mandate.

By doing assignments to assist not only the in-house lawyers but also the acquisition and co-production team, I was fortunate to try my hand in a wide range of legal areas. Not only did I work with issues of intellectual property, specifically copyright, but I also dealt with corporate/commercial, entertainment, piracy and even property law.

As a Crown agency, TVO is subject to further government regulations that do not apply to private broadcasters. That provided an opportunity for me to get involved with areas of law to which I would not otherwise have exposure, for instance corporate governance.

In this placement, I was able to capitalize on the research, drafting and negotiation skills that I learned in the classroom. My supervisors placed a level of trust in me that gave a strong sense of the value of my work. Every assignment had a clear, visible application to keeping TVO running, improving its efficiency and producing or acquiring quality content. Moreover, my supervisors accepted my recommendations and communicated them to other departments or industry collaborators. It was a very affirming way to begin a career in IP, entertainment and corporate law.

This internship provided a great environment for hands-on learning and a wonderful foray into the legal issues of the Canadian broadcasting industry. I encourage any students considering the IP Intensive to reflect on their professional backgrounds and interests, read up on all the placements and make a clear request in their applications. The better students know themselves, where their interests lie and where they want to go professionally, the more likely they will be able to maximize the opportunities that IP Osgoode provides.

Roselyn Kelada-Sedra is a JD Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School and was enrolled in Osgoode’s Intellectual Property Law and Technology Intensive Program. As part of the program requirements, students were asked to write a reflective blog on their internship experience.

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Spending the semester at TVO gave me a fascinating and enjoyable look into the world of in-house lawyers. In-house lawyers deal with a broad range of issues including corporate, IP, tax, privacy and even estate law. The fact that TVO is a crown agency and charity added even more breadth to the legal issues I encountered during my placement.

The legal team at TVO also work closely alongside the business affairs department. This proximity allowed me to be involved in a number of deals for the co-production and acquisition of television properties as well as touch on a broad array of legal issues. As a result, I became well-acquainted with the business affairs people over the course of my time with TVO. Our casual chats provided an unexpected benefit in that they gave me a very good sense of what deals were coming through the department and the important issues for those deals from a business and legal perspective. When the lawyers asked me to look into legal issues surrounding a particular point in a deal, I understood the context in which they were asking the question. Unlike private practice, the focus of my research was frequently less about finding a way to advocate an issue and more about finding a way to meet the business needs of the organization.

Much of my research involved broadcast law. The Canadian television industry has a unique landscape that is heavily regulated. The rights to individual programs are founded in copyright law but shaped by the requirements of public funding agencies like the (CMF). CMF mandates that certain rights be held by producers and creates thresholds for the amount of rights that broadcasters can or must retain in individual projects. In addition, the (CRTC) mandates certain requirements for broadcasters in terms of how much Canadian content they air. Throughout my placement I became increasingly familiar with this regulatory landscape.

On a personal level, the best part of the placement was by far the attitude that everybody at TVO had about having me on as a student. From the first day the vibe was that they were glad to be a part of the IP Intensive and went out of their way to make sure I would get the most of out the experience. I was invited to meetings. I was asked what kind of work I was interested in doing. My supervisors checked in frequently to make sure that my expectations were being met. By the same token, whenever I submitted work there was constructive feedback.

My great experience at TVO was a direct result of what makes the IP Intensive such a unique and rewarding program. Although the focus of the program is on IP law broadly, the focus is also on getting students into placements where they will thrive. From my first interview for a spot in the program, there was a strong emphasis from the faculty on finding out what kind of experience I was looking to have and what type of organization I thought would provide that experience. My placement at TVO was a direct response to making the faculty aware that I am an unabashed film and TV business geek. For students considering the IP Intensive in future years, I strongly recommend considering what areas they find appealing and communicating it to the program director and faculty early on during the application process.

The IP Intensive is a great way to spend a semester.

Ryan Keller is a JD Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School and was enrolled in Osgoode’s Intellectual Property Law Intensive Program. As part of the program requirements, students were asked to write a reflective blog on their internship experience.

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We have a wonderful array of��,��from government agencies to media organizations, hi-tech companies, and innovation centres. For the Fall 2013 term, we have partnered with three brand new placement organizations: Apotex, Cobalt Pharmaceuticals Company (the Canadian subsidy of Actavis, Inc.) and CBC/Radio-Canada. We are also pleased to welcome the return of TVO from our inaugural year. Other IP intensive placement organizations include: Canadian Heritage, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office, Industry Canada (Copyright and International IP Policy Branch), the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN), Stanford Centre for Legal Informatics (CodeX), The Globe and Mail, and VentureLAB.

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 (IPJ).

The IP Intensive begins with��, led by IP Intensive Students currently enrolled in the IP Intensive, which will feature presentations and workshops by experts prominent in the IP community. The seminars will cover a wide variety of topics, from “Trade-mark Prosecution” to “Intellectual Property Reform Process”, from “Biotechnology Focus: Pharma” to “Digital Media, Journalism, Freedom of Expression”. ��Our IP Intensive students will be interacting and engaging in stimulating discussions with the Chair of the Trade-marks Opposition Board, a senior policy analyst from Canadian Heritage (Copyright Policy Branch), counsel from the Ontario Information and Privacy Commissioner’s Office, in-house counsel and top executives from a broad range of industries, practitioners from the major Canadian law firms, academics and members of the judiciary.��Then IP Intensive Student Interns will participate in an 11-week internship with one of our placement partners.

The program director for 2013 will be Professor David Vaver. Throughout the term, the students will be meeting with him 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 on the . They are also responsible to lead their own seminar presentations, which will occupy the wrap-up week of the course.

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

Giuseppina D’Agostino is the Founder and Director of IP Osgoode, an Associate Professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, and the Founder of the IP Intensive.

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