Who Gets Burned When the Dragon Stirs? – Ramifications of Stricter Patent Protection in China

Jameson Berkow in The National Post recently voiced a concern not unfamiliar to those who have seen the cover of any Economist magazine in the past eight years – the dangers of China’s evolving economy, in particular their approach to patent protection.

The article argues that, “China … has intentionally maintained a lax intellectual property enforcement regime for decades, waiting until its internal invention industry had become strong enough to warrant something more robust.” Read the rest of this entry »

Apple Manages to Frustrates Developers…Again!

Apple has launched a new requirement, which will require sandboxing of all Mac App Store applications, starting next March. This move again will frustrate developers, although Apple claims its main motivation for such a move is to provide safety. Apple has had a unique relationship with many app developers in the past, providing a superb launch point and audience for their products, but also frustrating them with restrictive and sometimes anti-competitive strategies. Read the rest of this entry »

Microsoft Defends Patent-Licensing Strategy

Amidst the flurry of patent cases among the lot of mobile technology companies, it is difficult to keep track of who is bringing whom to court. In light of the sheer number of cases and their ever growing international scope, even the use of flow charts cannot fully rescue our collectively boggled minds from the convoluted and fast evolving relationships of these entities. On this basis alone, many would say that without a serious overhaul, the patent system risks completely stymieing its objective of fostering innovation – at least in the mobile business where companies appear more preoccupied by legal disputes than research and development.

According to Microsoft Deputy General Counsel Horacio Gutiérrez, however, such legal wrangling is an expected consequence following the introduction of any new and disruptive technology. Read the rest of this entry »

SCC Judgement: Hyperlinking to Content Does Not Constitute Republication

Last Wednesday (October 19th, 2011), the Supreme Court of Canada released its judgement on Crookes v. Newton (2011 SCC 47). The case focused on whether or not liability existed when one post hyperlinks to allegedly defamatory material on the internet. The court’s decision was succinctly summarized by Justice Abella, who stated, “I would conclude that a hyperlink, by itself, should never be seen as “publication” of the content to which it refers.”  Read the rest of this entry »

Cloudlaw Conference: Jurisdiction Panel

The first panel at the Cloudlaw Conference as on the topic of Jurisdiction. The three speakers were Professor Anupam Chander from the UCDavis School of Law, Professor Andrew Clement from the Faculty of Information at the University of Toronto, and Mr. Steve Mutkoski, who is the Worldwide Policy Director for Microsoft Corporation.

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CloudLaw Conference: Competition/IP Panel

The last panel of last Friday’s CloudLaw conference was the Competition Policy and Intellectual Property panel discussing the existing policies regulating cloud computing providers, the effect of government legislation on cloud computing, and how upcoming IP and copyright legislation will affect the future growth of the field.

The four distinguished speakers were Prof. Salil Mehra from the Temple University Beasley School of Law, Prof. Pamela Samuelson from the Berkeley Law School, Dr. Craig McTaggart, Director of Broadband Policy from TELUS Communications, and Prof. Oliver Goodenough from the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University

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Samsung Breathes Temporary Sigh of Relief in U.S. Patent Battle with Apple

In the latest development in the legal saga between Apple and Samsung, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh tentatively declined to issue a preliminary injunction that would bar some Samsung smartphones and tablets from U.S. sale. In July, Apple had requested the injunction from the Northern District Californian federal court on the basis that Samsung’s Galaxy line of products copies the iPhone and iPad in functions and appearance. Read the rest of this entry »

2011 Cloud Computing Conference Live Webcast

Watch the live webcast of the Fall 2011 Cloud Computing Conference: Law and Policy Issues in the Cloud here. The Conference begins at 9:00 am Friday, October 14, and ends at 5:00 pm the same day.

Federal Government Introduces New Copyright Reform Bill

Last week the Canadian federal government introduced Bill C-11, entitled An Act to Amend the Copyright Act. Since 2005, there had been three failed attempts at copyright reforms by the federal government. The last such attempt was Bill C-32 introduced in June 2010 during the last parliament, which died on the order paper when the federal election was called last spring. The new Bill C-11 is identical to Bill C-32. The following are some of the highlights from the bill: Read the rest of this entry »

Target Misses the Mark for Interlocutory Injunction: Target Brands Inc. v Fairweather Ltd.

In the newest development in the ongoing trademarks case between Target and Fairweather, Target sought to restrain Fairweather from operating stores in association with the “TARGET” trademark/trade name or a bullseye logo so as to cause confusion with Target’s own business until the trial date late 2012. But Target failed the interlocutory injunction test according to the Federal Court, and the motion was dismissed. Read the rest of this entry »