Copyright assignments are often back-dated or retroactive. A Federal Court decision – Harmony Consulting Ltd. V. G.A. Foss Transport Ltd., 2011 FC 340, aff’d 2012 FCA 226 – demonstrates the dangers of such assignments, and two (2) questions anyone relying on such an assignment should ask.

Here are excerpts from the most recent tips on SlawTips, the site that each week offers up useful advice, short and to the point, on technology, research and practice.

Technology

[There was no technology tip last week.]
Dan Pinnington

Research

Use Storify to Save and Send
Shaunna Mireau

One of the things that we are careful to do in the Field Law Libraries is to make sure that the output of research is the way that it is needed. There is no sense in providing a printed copy of something if the requester wants to send a tweet about . . . [more]

The lengthy decision of Justice D. M. Brown released today in York University v. Markicevic is required reading for all civil litigators in Ontario.

It contains an up-to-the-minute, detailed consideration of the governing legal principles of: Mareva injunctions; fraudulent preferences; the admissibility of subjective intent and drafts in interpreting releases; and the test for summary judgment. It also powerfully reinforces the case law requiring unsuccessful parties to file their own bills of costs if they attack the quantum of costs sought by the successful party. See Justice Brown 2013-01-21 York U v. Markicevic . . . [more]

The UK House of Commons Chamber started tweeting on January 4th on the feed @HouseofCommons. The feed is maintained by House staff and provides official news and information including links to relevant items on the www.parliament.uk website and Twitter feeds from members and others. They have also been re-tweeting the UK Parliament (@UKParliament) and responding to suggestions.

 Hat tip: CBC parliamentary/political reporter Kady O’Malley  (@kady) who issues a challenge to the Canadian Parliament:

. . . [more]

New Zealander Kim Dotcom, that large gadfly who is still facing extradition to the US for alleged "piracy" of American entertainment (see the WSJ story) has launched his new—and improved—cloud file storage service, MEGA.

• I will ensure I meet with my clients in person at least once: In most real estate practices the staff handle many aspects of the client’s matter. However, ultimate responsibility still lies with the supervising lawyer. Take the time to meet with the client in person to review the transaction and understand the client instructions, particularly with respect to the client’s intended uses of the property. Not every matter is straightforward, and you don’t want to have to be addressing a problem that was only noticed the day the deal is to be closed, or never noticed at all.

. . . [more]

Each Monday we present brief excerpts of recent posts from five of Canada's award-winning legal blogs chosen at random* from thirty-five 2010 & 2011 CLawBie winners. In this way we hope to promote their work, with their permission, to as wide an audience as possible.

This week the randomly selected blogs are 1. Clicklaw Blog   2. Small City Law Firm Tech   3. Rule of Law   4. Doorey’s Workplace Law Blog    5. Social Media for Law Firms

Between November 5^th and 9^th, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law’s (UNCITRAL) Working Group III met for its 26^th session, the fifth session dedicated to the drafting of procedural rules for online dispute resolution for cross-border electronic commerce transactions. Those who would need a refresher course on the working group’s agenda and mandate can read John Gregory’s posts from April of 2012 and 2011. As with the previous three sessions of the Working Group, work was to be centered around the “preparation of legal standards on online dispute resolution for cross-border electronic transactions . . . [more]

Are you frustrated with the media and pundits providing an incomplete picture of a legal issue? A new law blog seeks to provide a more in-depth perspective on Canadian Legal Ease. The about page states,

This site intends to help fill that gap by providing a forum to provide the public with timely, informed commentary on legal issues currently facing Canada and Canadians.

The opening post this week is from Osgoode Hall Law School Professor Kent McNeil, who says Idle No More Deserves Our Thanks,

A major concern of the Idle No More movement is Bill C-45,

. . . [more]

Summaries of selected recent cases are provided each week to Slaw by Maritime Law Book. Every Sunday we present a precis of the latest summaries, a fuller version of which can be found on MLB-Slaw Selected Case Summaries at cases.slaw.ca.

This week's summaries are in Jury background checks, Impaired driving , Family law settlements, Mandatory retirement, & Standing:

(beyond lip service), say two members of the Ontario Court of Appeal (if you read between the lines), even if you’re the Attorney-General of Canada or the Prime Minister of Canada. See USA v Leonard & Gionet 2012 ONCA 622. . . . [more]

There’s something about the end of the year that provokes reflection and goal-setting. In the past few weeks, I have met with several of my staff to discuss next steps in their careers. In most situations, making the move into the next level of professional practice requires some learning. Managers can be a great sounding board and advocate for staff looking for new experiences. These questions came up again and again in my conversations with staff, and may be a useful frame for other managers and employees as they work together to develop a career strategy.

What is your goal? . . . [more]