Articles 2020

Last month, Gucci found itself on the losing side of a trademark battle in Japan. The Italian luxury goods company had been in an ongoing dispute with the brand Parodys, owned by Nobuaki Korukawa. Kurokawa makes t-shirts with parodies of famous brands like Chanel, Balenciaga, Adidas and of course, Gucci.

Hollywood-esque special effects that allow anyone to become any person with the click of a few buttons: this is the reality of deepfakes. Deepfakes are a form of technology that uses artificial intelligence (“AI”) to allow a person to impersonate someone else’s appearance and voice. A person only needs a phone or a computer, and an image or video of the desired target.

In recent years, the CIPO has received criticism for its approach in claim construction, particularly in the context of assessing the patentability of computer-implemented inventions. It has been especially difficult for patent applications involving computer-implemented inventions to overcome CIPO’s “problem-solution” approach, as CIPO examiners have generally deemed computer elements as non-essential, often resulting in the rejection of such inventions on grounds of ineligible subject matter.

In this ongoing series, we will profile each of the members of the OBA IP/ IT Law Section Executive to learn about them in five minutes or less. It’s five minutes or less because we know that a lot of you docket in six minute increments!

In this ongoing series, we will profile each of the members of the OBA IP/ IT Law Section Executive to learn about them in five minutes or less. It’s five minutes or less because we know that a lot of you docket in six-minute increments!

The law changes, and so do the tools and technologies we use to provide legal services. This article addresses the key concerns that lawyers, paralegals and legal professionals should consider when investing in new technology.

This article summarizes the current approach of Ontario Courts to administrative dismissals following the 2020 suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic.