Issues / Your Take

  • Fake Law Firms, Bogus DMCA Threats, and the “Dead Internet”. Why AI threatens to automate Copyright Trolling.

    Fake Law Firms, Bogus DMCA Threats, and the “Dead Internet”. Why AI threatens to automate Copyright Trolling.

    Hey All! While working on my final paper, I stumbled over an interesting article published by ArsTechnica that has raised my eyebrows, and I am sure it may raise yours as well. Eric Smith, a writer based in the United States recently “received a ‘DMCA Copyright Infringement Notice’ in late March from “Commonwealth Legal,” representing…

  • Imagining a World Without Copyright

    Imagining a World Without Copyright

    “Copyright is usually presented as a balance between promoting the public interest in the encouragement and dissemination of work of the arts and intellect and obtaining just reward for the creator” -“Binnie J Theberge   As set out in Theberge, Copyright in Canada (and internationally) is built upon the fundamental assumption that the user and creator are two distinct…

  • ‘Free’ cash from social media: but at what cost?

    ‘Free’ cash from social media: but at what cost?

    The recent emergence of Temu, a rapidly growing online marketplace originating from China, has stirred controversy and raised concerns over data privacy and user consent. Promising ‘free’ cash incentives for new sign-ups and referrals, Temu has garnered significant attention on social media platforms, with users sharing screenshots of payments ranging from £50-£100. The site spends…

  • Human Expression in EDM

    Human Expression in EDM

    Following the insightful presentations of last Friday, and inspired by a previous class debate on the intersection of AI and EDM, I wanted to share my take on EDM and how it is a genre driven by culture, human emotion, and social movements. Despite how it can be perceived as a genre, EDM isn’t merely…

  • Big Fat Copyright Infringer

    Big Fat Copyright Infringer

    If you have not seen the 2002 film “Big Fat Liar,” you are surely missing out! It revolves around a young boy who tells an elaborate lie to cover up his tardiness for school, only to find himself caught up in a web of deception. The plot revolves around 14-year-old Jason Shepherd, an incorrigible liar living…

  • The Ethical Ambiguity of Online File Sharing

    The Ethical Ambiguity of Online File Sharing

    Introduction Throughout this course, as the name ‘Copyright and Social Media’ suggests, we have focused on the internet, technology, and various legal and ethical issues that arise from their use. At the crux of modern technology we see today, is the desire to share information and ideas. Peer-to-peer online file-sharing platforms, like Torrentz, UTorrent, and…

  • Copyright Conflicts in AI Generated Music

    Copyright Conflicts in AI Generated Music

    by Brittney, Jack, Jake and Rob. In our presentation this week we will be discussing the tension between AI and human creators in copyright, with a specific focus on music. We will examine how some early experiments with novel approaches to music are a precursor to current AI approaches to music creation. As part of…

  • Can Social Media Trends Qualify for Copyright Protection?

    Can Social Media Trends Qualify for Copyright Protection?

    Hi everyone, I am looking to explore if social media trends can qualify for copyright protection under Canadian Copyright law and the role that contractual licensing agreement plays in this. I have attached the introductory portion of my paper but I will appreciate your thoughts and comments. INTRODUCTION: There is little doubt that while our…

  • Trump’s Truth… (Social)

    Trump’s Truth… (Social)

    Hi everyone, Saw this news article today and thought that it might be interesting for people in this class! If anyone remembers, former president Donald Trump launched a social media called “Truth Social” back in 2021. It has been called a “twitter clone” that is a alt-tech social media platform. As of today, it has…

  • Data as Copyright

    Data as Copyright

    Good morning everyone, Sharvani and myself are going to be presenting this Friday on “Data as copyright”. This post will provide a brief rundown on what we will be talking about. Code as Law– Borrowing from Lawrence Lessig’s argument that “code is law in the cyberspace”, this segment will present the importance of “code” and…

  • Podcast on AI and Elections

    Podcast on AI and Elections

    I listened to an interesting podcast on the implications of generative AI in elections last week that I thought people in this class might enjoy. While the podcast makes note of the benefits of generative AI to elections, specifically around generative AI’s capacity to reduce campaign costs, it mostly focuses on the threats that generative…

  • Copyright Trolling on Youtube.

    Copyright Trolling on Youtube.

    Hi All! Vy and I are working on two very similar papers, and have decided to combine our work for this presentation. Our topic is copyright trolling on Youtube. Here’s a brief overview of what we will be talking about.  What Is a Troll?  A Copyright Troll (“Troll”) is an actor within copyright regimes of…

  • Deepfakes in Canadian Law Presentation

    Deepfakes in Canadian Law Presentation

    Please click link below in the browser to see the presentation! https://allard-law423-001-2024.sites.olt.ubc.ca/files/2024/03/Deepfakes-in-Canadian-Law-Michelle-Ching.pdf

  • Dating Apps & Intellectual Property

    Dating Apps & Intellectual Property

    In anticipation of our presentation coming up on Friday, Scott and I have compiled a few brief readings for your perusal. We will be covering some specific IP topics in addition to the ones contemplated below. These readings are really just meant to get you thinking about what you generally think about dating apps and…

  • Found an amazing resource for cases on “fair use” in the USA!

    Found an amazing resource for cases on “fair use” in the USA!

    Hey everyone! I found an amazing resource for finding “fair use” cases in the USA. It’s called the US Copyright Office Fair Use Index: https://www.copyright.gov/fair-use/fair-index.html You can search by jurisdiction or category of the issue (like parody, internet, film, etc) and they are all in condensed down case briefs. Maybe you know about this resource…