Articles 2020

Earlier this year, Walmart filed an opposition with the US Patent and Trademark Office against Kanye West’s new Yeezy logo. Yeezy LLC’s new trademark application consists of eight symmetrical dotted lines in the shape of a spark. Walmart argues that it will be damaged by the registration of Yeezy’s mark, which was filed in connection with music, clothing, retail store services, streaming of music services, record production, and hotel services. ⁠

Teksavvy Solutions v Bell Inc. provides a novel remedy for copyright owners to deal with copyright infringement: a site-blocking order. In TekSavvy, the Federal Court of Appeal unanimously upheld the Federal Court’s unprecedented interlocutory order that required several Canadian Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to restrict access to several websites because of copyright infringement.

Top technology companies are specifically focusing their attention on how their innovators innovate and empowering them to identify promising ideas for patent or trade secret protection. Companies should regularly review their internal innovation capture channels, patent education, inventor incentives, and innovation mining program to ensure that they are providing sufficient positive reinforcement to foster an IP friendly culture.

Upcycled and reworked fashion has always been on trend, but has never quite been as popular as it has over the last year. With the pandemic pushing e-commerce to the forefront of retail, the ability to make, sell, or purchase reworked clothing has become increasingly accessible. While upcycled garments continue to serve as an artistic outlet and sustainable alternative to the apparel industry's massive waste problem, what does reworked fashion mean for trademark and IP owners?

The Technology and Construction Court in the United Kingdom recently considered the failure of a high-value digital transformation project and the eventual termination of the project agreement. The decision provides commentary on repudiatory breach, exclusion of liability for indirect damages, breach of warranty, and project delays, which provides a number of helpful points for consideration for technology lawyers.

After more than a year of working from home, the Goodmans intellectual property litigation team has had its share of virtual hearings and trials. We have rounded-up our top 5 tips for ensuring your next virtual hearing goes as smoothly as possible.

As the pandemic persists, a health practitioner’s office must maintain measures that protect its community’s safety in the most contactless way possible. Biometric kiosks are one way to achieve this objective. However, the use of biometric kiosks carries a host of privacy concerns regarding body temperature as personal health information and the expectation of privacy.

This article features a few Ontario-based female intellectual property lawyers, who reflect on their careers in the Intellectual Property Bar and offer their advice to junior women pursuing or considering a career in intellectual property law.

Non-Fungible tokens or NFTs have captured the zeitgeist of the collective world in recent months. Is it a craze, the latest bubble, or is this the groundwork of a new tomorrow? The COVID-19 pandemic has created a brave new world of digital transformation, and NFTs may just be the logical consequence of a new era.