The Federal Court recently held, in Apotex Inc. v. Pfizer Inc. et al., 2016 FC 136, that there was no legal basis to invalidate an issued patent due to non-patent of an administrative fee while the application was pending. This result arose regarding a patent where an incorrect final fee was paid many years earlier during the patent pendency.

Through out the patent process, multiple fees are required by specific deadlines. These fees include annual maintenance fees, examination fees, and final fees at the time the application is granted. The Patent Act and Patent Rules set out requirements . . . [more]

The annual US Generic Pharmaceutical Association meeting in February, despite being held in Orlando, was generally not a sunny affair. Instead the central theme focused on “warning” signs that require attention from industry players in their dealings with stakeholders including Congress, FDA and the public. An “Uber-like” disruption is coming in healthcare. At the same time, Biosimilars continue to represent both uncharted successes and challenges. Regulatory approval and physician/patient education are key concerns. The standard message of “generics are the solution to increasing costs, not the cause”, and the need for a global business model, were recurring themes.

A few . . . [more]

In the context of criminal investigations police in Canada may obtain “tower dump” production orders. These are orders requiring the applicable cellular telecommunications providers to disclose all records of cellular traffic through a particular cell tower over a specified time period. In R. v. Rogers and Telus, 2016 ONSC 70, Justice Sproat noted that “Every year such orders require cellular providers to produce the names and addresses of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of subscribers; who they called; who called them; their location at the time; and the duration of the call. These orders may also require that . . . [more]

If you have decided to go to court to assert your rights, or someone has taken you to court, there are several summary options, short of a conventional trial, that may save time and money yet still get the result you are interested in.

In 2009 the Federal Courts Rules were amended to expand the availability of summary judgment and summary trial options. The number of proceedings that have used or are using these provisions has expanded in recent years, perhaps in part as a response to greater discussion of summary options in the superior courts and by the Supreme . . . [more]

An Ontario court recently ruled in 395804 Ontario Limited c.o.b. as Blacklock’s Reporter v. Canadian Vintners Association and Dan Paszkowski that circumventing a subscription paywall to access a news article violates the technological protection measure (TPM) provisions in Canada’s Copyright Act, and negates the fair dealing defence to copyright infringement available under Canadian law.

The plaintiff, Blacklock, published a subscription-based newsletter which used a paywall to restrict access to paying subscribers. The defendants (collectively the “CVA”), sought a copy of an article from the plaintiff’s website. The CVA obtained a copy of the article by obtaining another subscriber’s assistance, . . . [more]

The holiday season is an important season to focus on good will and the profound messages that the holidays celebrate. Many organizations use the holiday season to communicate with clients and associates to share that sentiment. For example, an organization may wish to invite individuals to a holiday-themed party, or simply send a seasonal greeting. What many organizations may not have considered is whether these benign-seeming messages will attract seven-figure liability.

Canada’s Anti-Spam Law, more commonly known as CASL, generally provides that a sender must obtain the consent of a recipient before sending a “commercial electronic message,” or “CEM,” to . . . [more]

Patents have been described as a quid pro quo – in return for disclosure of the invention, the inventor gets a time limited exclusive period to practice the invention. There are a number of rules and restrictions that restrict the ability to extend patent rights – i.e. get more than the patent owner bargained for, including ‘double patenting’ but some of the earlier concerns about extending patent protection through double patenting no longer apply under our current Patent Act which requires that patents and any divisional patents expire on the same day.

Double patenting is a restriction on getting multiple . . . [more]

While comparative advertising is common Canada, that does not mean that Canadian laws allow a “free for all” approach. Competitors who feel that their business has been hurt by a comparative advertisement can complain to the appropriate regulator (e.g. the Competition Bureau, Health Canada, the Canadian Food and Inspection Agency), file a trade dispute with Advertising Standards Canada, or initiate a lawsuit in the appropriate Canadian court. The legal and public relations consequences can be significant.

The Canadian case law on comparative advertising is often complex, contradictory and should be examined carefully when reviewing a proposed comparative advertising concept before . . . [more]

As Canada begins to settle in with the new “notice and notice” provisions under the Copyright Act (Canada) which came into force January 2, 2015 copyright owners in Canada still need to address infringing content posted on websites hosted in the United States.

Lenz v. Universal Music Corp., Nos. 13-16106, 13-16107, 2015 WL 5315388 (9^th Circuit Sept. 14, 2015) adds additional work by a copyright owner before they can use the US notice and takedown remedy.

Background

In the 1990s the debate was whether internet intermediaries, such as ISPs, should be liable for infringements made on their servers . . . [more]

For the first time in recent memory, the Federal Court has issued an interlocutory injunction in an intellectual property proceeding. In April, the Federal Court of Appeal upheld the injunction issued to Rickett Benckiser LLC.

The standard test for issuing an injunction is set by the Supreme Court of Canada in RJR MacDonald which requires the moving party establish:

• a serious issue to be tried;
• irreparable harm will result to the moving party if the relief is not granted; and
• the balance of convenience favours the moving party.

Of these three parts to the test, finding ‘irreparable harm’ is typically . . . [more]

The Federal Court recently issued a practice notice entitled Notice to the Parties and to the Profession – Case Management: Increased Proportionality in Complex Litigation before the Federal Court. The notice affects all complex litigation before the Court, including intellectual property matters. The notice is designed to achieve increased proportionality in Federal Court proceedings, and introduce efficiencies which should save litigants both time and money. The changes should also make it easier for an action to reach trial within two (2) years from the filing of the Statement of Claim, an objective communicated in a previous notice from the . . . [more]

As a result of Bill C-59, when passed, clients will enjoy a statutory privilege in their client communications with Canadian patent and trademark agents.

This will provide Canadian clients who use patent and trademark agents, whether or not also lawyers, more secure protection of their confidential communications. In Canada the law had been that non-lawyer patent agents or trademark agents do not benefit from professional legal privilege. As to patent agents see Lumonics Research Ltd. v. Gould et al. (1983), 70 C.P.R. (2d) 11 (FCA). As to trademark agents see Visa International Service Assn. v. Visa Travel International Ltd. (1983), . . . [more]