This article is a series of editorial comments on five Canadian decisions rendered in 2020 relating to intellectual property in the digital world. We discuss a variety of topics, including express and implied licensing of copyrights and trademarks, as well as trademark use and control, all in the Internet age. The decisions we present are accompanied by our reflections on the major legal paradigm shifts we have been experiencing for nearly 25 years with the advent of a larger-than-life digital environment.

The year 2020 will have been a pivotal year particularly because of the impact of COVID-19 on the uberization of the traditional economy. How will we deal with the issues of intellectual property use in a context of augmented reality, artificial intelligence, metaverse? To be continued…

Our article will be available online in May 2022. In the meantime, you can read the PDF in French here: Pour venir à bout de l’hydre numérique… Réflexions et commentaires sur certains changements de paradigmes juridiques.