In planning Obiter Dicta’s first in-person event earlier this year, I found myself in the student paper’s basement office leafing through past print issues dating well back to the 1960s. As we phrased it to one another on the management team, we planned this event with the goal of reminding the Osgoode community that Obiter exists and that it does interesting, creative things. We used...
The Treaty 8 First Nations of Alberta are advocating for the implementation of a new law—the Nehiyaw and Dene Nations of Treaty No. 8 Adoption and Private Guardianship Law—which aims to protect First Nations children. This law works to end the adoptions and private guardianships involving Treaty 8 children without written consent from either parents or guardians, and the First Nations themselves...
Photo credits: Doo Lee, CC BY 4.0 from Center for the Study of the Public Domain at Duke Law In the jurisdiction of intellectual property, few names shine as bright as Mickey Mouse. Yet, as the clock struck midnight on 1 January 2024, Micky took a historic step: he entered the public domain.[1] For many, this is their chance to dive into their creative minds and transform Mickey into distinct...
Osgoode Hall Law School is set to represent Canada at The Hague in May, the renowned court for international criminal law and the seat of the United Nations. Competing against top law schools such as Georgetown, University of Chicago, and University of Miami, Osgoode’s team will face a challenging and intellectually rigorous competition. This year’s case touches on critical issues...
Depreciation of goodwill in trademark infringement cases is highly subjective, and alternative arguments to those of the court can be made in the case of Subway IP LLC v. Budway, Cannabis & Wellness Store.[1] This Federal Court case was one in which Subway claimed that Budway violated their trademark, directed business away from Subway towards Budway, and depreciated the goodwill of the...
In the ever-evolving landscape of innovation, neurotechnology stands as both a beacon of promise and a nexus of ethical complexity. While patents fuel innovation, they also risk creating barriers that hinder society’s access to life-changing advancements in brain science. As Canada ventures into this domain, it confronts challenges regarding the patenting of life-saving devices, navigating...
On Saturday, 16 March, the Election Commission of India announced the dates for India’s upcoming 2024 General Elections. They are to take place between 19 April to 1 June, over a period of forty-two days and in a total of seven phases. These elections are the second longest to ever be held in the country, with the longest being the first ever General Elections held in 1951. Conducted 3 years...
Simply put, partisan appointment of judges erodes confidence in the integrity of the administration of justice. A fundamental principle of our justice system is that “justice should not only be done, but should manifestly and undoubtedly be seen to be done.” This stressing of the image of justice is informed by the overriding public interest in maintaining confidence in the integrity...
Since the rise of Chat GTP, there has been a correlated increase in the debate of whether artificial intelligence will eventually render the role of the lawyer futile. After all, AI is gaining traction as a useful tool to analyze and synthesize great amounts of documentation, a large part of what lawyers and legal clerks do. In fact, in 2023, Goldman Sachs reported that generative AI currently...
At daybreak, you find yourself searching for the light, You see clouds, birds, trees, and grass, but no light, As day passes to dusk, light’s husk is not to be seen, Twilight approaches, and to your dismay, darkness is in the queue, What would dark be without light? Dare not say fright! In the darkest hour, the moon’s beams descend into the night, Watching from afar, you stand as close to...
In All About Love, bell hooks (note that hooks intentionally does not capitalize her name) describes love as a deliberate action. Love is a verb, a thing we do, and we should do it intentionally. This is foundational for a loving ethic. Throughout her book, hooks argues how love has space in all aspects of our lives, including the workplace. In order to cultivate self-love, we need to surround...
An unauthorized guide to Osgoode’s best faucets and tap lamps. The Tap Lamps We are constantly surprised by the number of our peers who are unaware of the “tap on, tap off” lamps on the tables furthest away from the windows on the upstairs floor of the library. In fact, we are only sharing this information with Obiter readers because we are graduating and won’t be around for the inevitable fights...
I hope spring is coming soon because winter can kindly leave. Spring is the time to start leaving our homes again and (hopefully) start going on nature walks and exploring what Ontario has to offer. I’ve compiled a list of some routes I’ve hiked over the past few years, or ones that were recommended to me by friends. I’ve included the distance from Osgoode as well, and hopefully the...
On March 20, 2024, the 2024 MLB season would have kicked off with a two-game series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres in Seoul, South Korea. Opening Day in North America was slated to occur on March 28. For baseball fans, another 162 game season is on its way and the storylines are intriguing to say the least. Here are five that I will personally be keeping an eye on. ...
The Hart Memorial Trophy crowns the Most Valuable Player in the NHL every year since 1972. Greats like Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, and Alexander Ovechkin have won the award multiple times, cementing their legacies as some of the best to step foot on the ice. This year’s race, however, is one of the tightest ones we’ve seen in recent history. It’s a four-way competition between Connor McDavid...
The NFL offseason just got underway and the player movement has been surprising. Star players seem to be changing teams daily and as the NFL world turns towards the Draft in late April, we can expect even bigger fireworks. Here are some of the most interesting and shocking offseason stories. Legends Retire Every offseason, the NFL bids farewell to historically great players. Defensive...
Courtesy: On 23 February 2024, at the Special General Membership meeting of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 3903 (CUPE), members voted strongly in favour of initiating strike action on February 26 until a fair employment contract is negotiated. CUPE represents teaching assistants, contract faculty, graduate assistants, and part-time librarians and archivists across York University...
Transit agencies participating in the One-Fare program. Courtesy: Prestocard.ca On February 26, the Ford government’s fare integration policy was enacted. The program was initially supposed to launch in March 2023. The fully funded One-Fare program by the Ontario government will make commuting more accessible and affordable for transit users. This one-fare decision will enable transit users...
You hear talk of Gen Z everywhere nowadays—in the news, on your socials, in talks with friends. Maybe you’re part Gen Z, or maybe they’re a species of human completely foreign to you. Regardless of what you think of the young, feisty, and unconcerned group, one thing is clear: they have style. In 2022, a survey showed that in the United States, fashion was the favourite entertainment...
If you curl up quietly on the rocks somewhere along Maine’s rocky coast—maybe wear dark, camouflage clothing—and wait until the moon lights up the choppy water, you might see any number of fantastical sights. Mermaids, and selkies too. If you watched just about the spot where the waves hit the shore, you may see fairies flitting between the flecks of spray, each their own dynamic Venus. Ghosts...
Two Hollywood classics and a little reflection on life In the summer of ‘19, a few friends and I were making conversation on a patio—ice cold soda in tow. On impulse, one fellow recommended that we go shoot pool at a nearby dive. One thing led to another, and what followed was a summer of regular games and good times that’s become as sentimental as it gets. Two obsessions have lingered since then...
The 2024 Academy Awards are just around the corner, and somehow—between law school classes, summer job searches, and general late winter agony—I watched all ten films nominated for Best Picture. In my humble opinion, 2023 was a phenomenal year for movies. Many of my favourite films of the year weren’t even nominated for best picture, and I consider everything that did make the shortlist at least...
I remember when Taylor Swift’s 1989 album came out. After a couple of years of liking Swift’s music in secret, almost overnight, she became the new celebrity of the moment—it was now officially cool to listen to Taylor Swift. Many fans still ardently uphold 1989 as her best album—undoubtedly, it was the album with the most cultural influence, launching Swift from a country singer to a mainstream...
Obiter Dicta held a “found poetry” event on February 7, 2024, where attendees created blackout poetry. This is a form of poetry where words are selected from existing text (in this case, old published Obiter articles) and the rest are blacked out to create a new poem. Here are some of the fun creations from the event: Author: Grace Lawrence Men and women who live in a society as just...
Well, yes! With the highly anticipated release of Beyoncé’s country album, more folks are learning about the history of country music, with most Black folks—like myself—getting back into the genre. Beyoncé has received heavy backlash for the two country songs she has released from her new album, with folks calling her sound inauthentic (despite her being from the South) and criticizing her use of...