The legal concept of property is fluid and dynamic. It evolves over time in relation to “changes in the purposes which society or the dominant classes in society expect the institution of property to serve” [CB Macpherson in Mary Jane Mossman & William F Flanagan, eds, Property Law Cases and Commentary (Toronto: Edmond Montgomery Publications) [...]

Over the December holidays, I succumbed to Apple’s iPhone 4: 9.3 mm thin, recyclable aluminosilicate glass, retina display, A4 chip, Camera & LED…it’s everything I ever wanted in a phone! Moreover, I get a solid half an hour of Angry Birds playtime on my subway rides up to Osgoode Hall Law School, conveniently located on [...]

iTunes, Amazon.com, Puretracks.com, Rogers Music Store, Sympatico Music Store. For those music lovers who legally download music, these various websites are but a few examples of online sources for mp3 and AAC downloads. As part of the digital consumer experience and convenience of online shopping, previews of songs are provided: 30 second clips that allow [...]

On September 22, 2010, Toronto Police Constable Adam Josephs launched a lawsuit in the Ontario Superior Court: Adam Josephs v. YouTube et. al (2010) CV-10-410890 (Ont. Sup. Ct.) (“Josephs v. YouTube”). In the suit, Constable Josephs sues video sharing website YouTube for $1.25 million. He seeks damages for defamation of his reputation and disclosure of [...]

On June 28, 2010, the US Supreme Court released its reasons in Bilski et al. v. Kappos, No.08-964 545 F. 3d 943 (PDF link) (“Bilski”). The case was widely followed, in particular, by intellectual property firms, as a decision widely favouring business method patents could have had serious ramifications on the patenting practices of future [...]

Technology giant Microsoft Corp. has made one last-ditch effort to defend a decade-long patent infringement lawsuit against a small Canadian software company, i4i Inc.  Last week, Microsoft filed a petition (PDF link) with the US Supreme Court asking for a final resolution to the dispute.  In the suit, i4i alleges that Microsoft used the small [...]

Considering putting a hyperlink on your website or blog? The case Crookes v. Newton, 2009 BCCA 392, may give you pause to reconsider. Although the British Columbia Court of Appeal held in Crookes that a website owner will not be liable for hyperlinking to defamatory sites, the decision left a number of unanswered questions that [...]

In R. v. Morelli (2010 SCC 8) the Supreme Court of Canada was faced with a number of complex and intertwined legal issues. The child pornography case turned on the validity of a search warrant obtained on a faulty and problematic ITO (Information to Obtain a Search Warrant). The majority and the dissent had dueling [...]

On September 18, the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in Bell Canada v. Bell Aliant Region Communications, 2009 SCC 40. Touching on areas such as administrative and communications law, the case concerned the extent and proper exercise of the authority of the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (“CRTC”). Background In May 2002, the [...]

Today marks an interesting anniversary in the Court’s jurisprudence. Ten years ago today, the Supreme Court released its decision in the case of U.F.C.W., Local 1518, v. KMart Canada Ltd., [1999] 2 S.C.R. 1083. There, a unanimous Court held that a law prohibiting union members from distributing leaflets at secondary sites during a labour dispute [...]