Matthew is a partner in the Intellectual Property team of our Toronto office. His practice focuses on intellectual property, commercial litigation as well as media and entertainment law.
He has experience with IP disputes, matters relating to misuse of confidential information, rights exploitation and management, civil fraud, business torts, contract disputes, and defamation matters. He also acts as counsel for clients with regards to international disputes regarding jurisdiction, foreign judgments and foreign and domestic letters of request.
Matthew has represented numerous clients across many industries, including in the film and television space. One of his leading decisions is the trial decision in Wiseau v. Harper, which is the leading case on fair dealing as it related to copyrighted material.
Matthew has successfully represented clients in numerous defamation matters, contractual disputes, copyright and trademark matters, matters related to jurisdiction, and administrative law matters.
Matthew represents a world-leading social media platform. He has successfully obtained injunctions for theft of confidential business information. He has experience acting as independent supervising counsel in Anton Piller matters. He has litigated a number of civil cases through trial to successful verdicts.
Awards and Recognition
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Best Lawyers in Canada: Recognized in Media and Entertainment Law
Media Mentions
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Osler News Jul 27, 2023
Alison Hayman and Matthew Diskin join Osler’s Intellectual Property group as partners
Osler welcomes new partners Alison Hayman and Matthew Diskin to the firm’s Intellectual Property group in Toronto.
Read more
Community Involvement
- Advocates Society
- Numerous pro-bono mandates undertaken
Speaking and Writing
Speaking Engagements
- Presenter, “Tech, Media & IP – A year in review and insights for 2021”, client webinar, December 11, 2020.
- Speaker, IPIC 2018 Conference – Don’t You Know Who I Am? – Privacy, Publicity and Defamation in the 21st Century
Published Work
- “Understanding the Litigation Finance Ecosystem”, Canadian Lawyer, October 2020
- “Lessons from the Drake-Jimmy Smith copyright dispute: Applying the US’s fair use summary procedures to Canadian fair dealing,” Entertainment & Media Law Signal, April 2, 2020
- “In-House Counsel Should Exercise Caution when Using Open-Source Software” Canadian Lawyer, September 10, 2020
- “A Civil Litigation Toolkit: Lessons from Life in the (Culture) Shift”, The Advocates’ Journal, Fall 2019
- “Hearsay, Proportionality and Dispositive Motions Toward a Principled Approach” The Advocates’ Journal, Vol. 34, No. 4, Spring 2016
- “Surprise! You Just Won the Case,” The Voice, DRI, Vol. 14, No. 36, September, 2015
- “How Social Media are Transforming Litigation,” Litigation, Vol 39, No. 2, Spring, 2013, abridged, edited and republished in the Best of ABA Sections – Litigation (the abridged publication appears at GPSOLO, Vol. 30, No. 9, September/October, 2013)
- “Beware the backfire: Going the summary judgment route can have consequences,” Canadian Lawyer, November 28, 2011
- “Regulatory Reform Best Practices: Reducing Overlap, Duplication and Inconsistencies Regulatory Boards and Administrative Law Litigation,” Vol. XI, No. 1, 2010
- “Bell, Rogers must reveal identity of alleged Internet defamer,” The Lawyers Weekly, November 20, 2009
- “E-Discovery Primer for Chartered Business Valuators,” Business Valuation Digest, November 2008
- “Simón Bolívar or Latin Cowboy? Chavez’s War Against Foreign Investors,” Tradeweek, Canadian Association of Importers and Exporters, May 15, 2005
Previous Speaking Engagements
Credentials
Education
- Queen’s University, LL.B.
Languages
- English
- French
Professional Affiliations
- Canadian Bar Association
- Ontario Bar Association
- Queen’s Law Journal, Managing Editor and Editor-in-Chief (2002-2004)
