Intellectual Property

Clairol Revisited: Distinguishing between the Definition of ‘Use’

This article discusses when businesses can lawfully use their competitor’s trade-name and trade-marks in comparative advertising campaigns.

Copyright Law and the Information Highway

This article reviews the law of copyright and evaluates whether its principles are broad enough to encompass information on the Internet.

Does Copyright Law extend to Lamination of Canvas Posters?

This paper examines Theberge v. Galerie d’Art du Petit Champlain Inc., in which the Supreme Court of Canada applied section 3(1) of the Copyright Act to determine whether an artist’s copyright was infringed by a defendant that copied his work.

Initial Interest Confusion Doctrine: Is the Door Opening in Canada?

The author examines a “passing-off” case in which the Law Society of British Columbia obtained an injunction preventing the owner of an adult website from using the Society’s name to divert Internet traffic to that website. The paper considers whether this case allows Canadian courts to adopt the American “initial interest confusion” doctrine in passing-off and trade-mark infringement cases.

Joint Authors: When are Collaborators in a Musical Work Entitled to Share in the Copyright of the Work?

This article discusses the rights and obligations of persons who collaborate to produce works protected by the Copyright Act, and focuses on a case involving Sarah McLachlan.

Legal Aspects of Advertising on the Internet

This article reviews the law of advertising as it applies to businesses that advertise on the Internet.

Lego: Is the Lego Brick a Trade-mark?

This article considers whether Lego has a monopoly in the design of its signature brick after the Lego patent expired in Canada.

Metatags: Can the Use of Metatags Constitute Trade-mark Infringement?

The author reviews whether using a competitor’s trade-mark as a website metatag is actionable as trade-mark infringement under the Trade-marks Act.

Raw Data: Is the Raw Data Compiled in a Telephone Directory the Proper Subject Matter of Copyright?

This article examines whether information collected and published in telephone directories receives protection under the Copyright Act.

Technology Protection Review

This article discusses the importance of businesses conducting an inventory of their intellectual property capital and determining which intellectual property rights need protecting.

The Importance of Protecting Your Business Names and Logos as Registered Trade-marks

This article discusses the advantages of registering trade-names or business logos as trade-marks.

Who owns the Intellectual Property: The Employee or the Employer?

This article examines who owns the intellectual property to an invention in any employer/employee relationship. Mr. Lesperance outlines the pitfalls of not having an employment agreement which clearly sets out the employers and employees rights and obligations where an employee creates an invention during the employment relationship.

World Intellectual Property Organization Domain Name Disputes: The Case of ARMANI.COM

This article reviews the law applicable to “cyber-squatting”, as illustrated by the author’s successful representation of a graphic artist named Anand R. Mani (who used the domain name “ARMANI.COM”) before the U.N.’s World Intellectual Property Organization.


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