The Blog

May 2, 2022

Dubbed as the Instagram “it” bag in 2016, Cult Gaia’s “Ark” bag design was recently refused trademark registration in the United States following the brand’s five-year battle to obtain registration for the design of its bag. Read more>>

February 10, 2021

On December 9, 2020, the Federal Court of Appeal of Canada (FCA) in Group III International Ltd v Travelway Group International Ltd, 2020 FCA 210, held that a trademark registration is a defence to damages during the period that it is registered, even if it is later invalidated. Read more>>

January 25, 2021

On December 14, 2020, Adidas filed an opposition with the United States Patent and Trademarks Trial and Appeal Board against Thom Browne Inc.’s US trademark applications for a red, white, and blue parallel stripe for use on footwear, on the grounds of likelihood of confusion and dilution by blurring. Read more>>

November 30, 2020

In early 2019, the beauty and skincare brand Glossier Inc. filed two trademark applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office relating to the packaging of its goods – one for its pink-lined boxes, and the other for its pink bubble wrap pouches. Read more>>

October 10, 2020

On September 18, 2020, the United States District Court Southern District of New York granted a motion for partial summary judgment with respect to liability for copyright infringement in relation to street style photography. Read more>>

September 25, 2020

Live-stream shopping platforms have become popular globally. With the increase in live shopping comes questions with respect to the various implications that this new form of shopping can have on e-commerce, intellectual property, and consumer protection laws. Read more>>

July 6, 2020

This is the winning blog of The AM Medal 2020, a competition held in collaboration with Southwestern Law School. Written by Sydney Woods & Grace Khanlian. Read more>>

February 10, 2020

Last week, I had the opportunity to present on the Intellectual Property (IP) Protection of Fashion Designs while completing my articling term. This presentation critically examines how the current forms of Canadian IP protection impact Canada’s fashion sector, as well as differ from IP protection internationally. Read more>>

December 31, 2019

Though the decade may be coming to an end, the number of fashion-related legal battles have not. Below are some of the most noteworthy intellectual property lawsuits that have occurred in the fashion industry over the last ten years. Read more>>

November 5, 2019

Earlier this year, Warner Music Group signed a distribution deal with AI-generated music application, Endel. Developed by start-up accelerator Techstars Music’18, Endel produces personalized sounds to help users focus and relax, based on personal inputs such as the time of day, location, heart rate, and weather. The first-ever algorithm to sign a major label deal, Endel is expected to release twenty albums by the end of this year. Read more>>

July 2, 2019

This is the winning blog of The AM Medal 2019, a competition held in collaboration with Southwestern Law School. Written by Lizzy Suarez and Shaun Flint. Read more>>

July 1, 2019

Over the past few years, I have worked and collaborated with Professor Hillary Kane from Southwestern Law School. Professor Kane is an expert in the field of Fashion Law in Los Angeles, and has been a wonderful mentor as I explore and study the area myself. This year, as part of her Fashion Law course, we have created the "AM Medal" as part of an internal competition Professor Kane and her colleagues held at the law school. Read more>>

April 23, 2019

This past fall, Canadian music icon Bryan Adams presented in front of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage to propose an amendment to the Canadian reversionary right. However, significant pushback has come from Committee members and various legal professionals, questioning whether amending the reversionary right is as significant an issue as Adams suggests it is. Read more>>

April 19, 2019

A few months ago, I had the opportunity to chat with Olivia Quenneville, a fourth-year student in the Professional Writing program at York University, who was at the time conducting research for an article examining art theft. Read more>>

December 4, 2018

Online piracy has been an issue that the entertainment industry has been facing for years. From apps to streaming sites and internet streaming devices, consumers are finding newer and cheaper ways to watch live television and motion picture films. Though most of these services allow consumers to watch copyrighted content legally, of the users that have internet streaming devices in Canada, about seventy percent are using these devices to stream copyright infringing content. Read more>>

October 20, 2018

Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend the Gender and Fashion Forum hosted by Startup Fashion Week – and what a fantastic experience that was. I have always been a firm believer that fashion is an expression of oneself – an art. One should have the opportunity to dress however they feel is most expressive and true to themselves. The question is whether the fashion industry provides this type of versatility to all consumers. Read more>>

October 19, 2018

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending Startup Fashion Week Toronto’s second event, the Business of Fashion Conference. Kicking off the event was a warm welcome from the #SFWtoronto team and the venue sponsor, Aird & Berlis LLP - a Toronto-based law firm with a specialized law practice in helping start-ups and scale-ups grow their businesses. With discussions surrounding business and fashion, I knew I was in for a treat. Read more>>

October 18, 2018

I am very excited to announce that this week, I will be covering Startup Fashion Week Toronto (better known as #SFWtoronto for all those who are following my journey on social media). SFW has been an initiative that I have been involved with since its inception in 2014. I am thrilled to have been given the opportunity to chat with some of Toronto’s best and brightest entrepreneurs in the fashion scene. Read more>>

April 30, 2018

From trademarking your logo to potentially patenting your items (a newer – yet narrowly used – method of protecting your unique fashion designs), there are various ways that start-ups and young companies in Canada can protect their intellectual property (IP) prior to diving into the competitive realm of fashion. Unfortunately, the Canadian fashion industry has also seen an increase in the number of large retailers who have found it appropriate to take designs originating from Indigenous communities and integrate them into their newest seasonal line. Read more>>

June 14, 2017

Although there is no shortage of counterfeit products on the market, it is not everyday that a high fashion designer sues your local flea market. Recently, Louis Vuitton reportedly filed a lawsuit against Dr. Flea’s Flea Market for intentionally selling a handbag that was evidently in violation of Canadian trademark and copyright laws. Read more>>

January 13, 2017

This past week, a colleague and I launched a style-law blog, Unprecedentedly Chic. Check out my interview with Alexia Kapralos from Canadian Lawyer Mag, where I discuss this platform and its purpose. Read more>>