Commentary

Humanity faces an unprecedented biodiversity crisis: our  sixth mass extinction . Only this time, it is driven not by natural forces but by human actions  such as habitat destruction, pollution, invasive species, overexploitation, and climate change. Extinction rates now exceed natural extinction levels by 1,000 to 10,000 times  and species populations across the planet are collapsing at alarming rates. The World Wildlife Fund  reports an average global decline of 69%  in...

“Neuralink and I, we’re on the eve of something great, so that works out perfect, too. Also – Adam and Eve. God created Adam, and then gave Adam a helper, who is Eve. I’m Adam, in this scenario, and Eve is my helper. Together they cursed humanity. Maybe I will do the same, with Eve.”  Nolan Arbaugh, the first recipient of a Neuralink brain chip   After a freak accident left Arbaugh entirely dependent on his family, Neuralink arrived with the promise of a better life – the uni

While the film Hellboy: The Crooked Man delivers on-screen horror-superhero thrills, the production company faced drama off-screen over its copyright litigation. In Hellboy Productions v Doe #1 , Associate Judge John Cotter of the Federal Court of Canada rejected a motion by a film studio seeking to compel disclosure of identities of internet subscribers allegedly involved in infringing copyright in its film. The Court dismissed the motion because Hellboy failed to show tha

AI transforms drug discovery and redefines what innovation means   Sometimes it really is the journey, not the destination, that counts. This idea captures the current debate over the patentability of AI-enabled drug discovery, where the method itself, rather than the final molecule, may hold the real value. A good example is Alphabet’s Isomorphic Labs. The company has been transforming how drugs are discovered. It has built an integrated AI-driven discovery process that pull

How are fashion houses currently utilizing GenAI?  There is no doubt Generative AI (GenAI) has dramatically impacted the way we use technology. The fashion industry has dabbled in AI , from  nonfungible tokens (NFTs ) to the metaverse .  However, GenAI’s capabilities go beyond these innovations, as its usage is pushing the fashion market beyond what it used to be: it’s revolutionizing production and operations, marketing efforts, hyper-personalizing customer service, and chan

“AI art isn’t real art.” That claim followed Théâtre D’opéra Spatial , the image Jason Allen created using Midjourney that won first prize at the 2022 Colorado State Fair Fine Arts Competition . Allen spent over 80 hours refining prompts and editing the final image, but many dismissed the work as machine-made. The controversy reignited an old question: do we value art for the creativity that produces it or for the form that meets the eye? That same question now confronts copy

Over the past decade, consumers have complained about the increasingly aggressive marketing practices of ticket sales and distribution companies like Ticketmaster. These practices have worsened the ticket-buying experience for concertgoers in Canada.     A recent example occurred in the fall of 2024 when singer-songwriter Taylor Swift ended her record-breaking Eras Tour with nine shows in Canada. News outlets nationwide sparked public outrage by reporting stories of fans’ dif

More than 70% of teens now turn to AI chatbots for advice and emotional support, but these unregulated systems are optimized for engagement, not well-being, exposing them to risks of manipulation, exploitation, and even suicide. Protecting them requires a shared duty between developers, legislators, and trusted adults.

Canada was first out of the gate with a national AI strategy, but now risks being outpaced in the global race to implementation. How does the nation that pioneered foundational AI research translate its academic prestige into tangible, trustworthy innovation for all Canadians?

In this second instalment in CIPPIC’s new fashion law blog series, I dive into the nuanced relationship between trademark law, brands, and brand power. What follows is a look at how trademarks help companies establish and build reputation, through the lens of some Canadian fashion case studies.