Articles 2024

An outline of some of the significant confirmed changes with their effective date of implementation if known, as well as proposed changes working their way through the legislative process.

Both parties bear an evidentiary burden on a motion for a counsel's and expert's eyes only (CEEO) Order. Shan Arora highlights the key findings in the Federal Court of Appeal's decision.

Bill C-86 proposes amendments to the Copyright Act to facilitate streamlined hearings and timely decision-making. The authors highlight key aspects of the proposed reform in this timely article.

Topics covered this week included franchise law and rescission, liability for wrongful patent enforcement, the duty to defend in the MVA context, family law (custody and access and breach of court orders), securities class actions, and mortgage enforcement. John Polyzogopoulos

Due to the flexible nature of the law of claims construction in Canada, the meaning of the commonly used transitional phrase "consisting essentially of" may surprise foreign lawyers and patent practitioners.

Dans une lettre (disponible uniquement en anglais) adressée à Innovation, Sciences et Développement économique Canada (ISDE), la Section nationale de l’ABC de la propriété intellectuelle relève que les modifications apportées en 2014 à la Loi sur les marques de commerce.

The British Columbia Court of Appeal (BCCA) in Vancouver Community College v. Vancouver Career College (Burnaby) Inc. recently decided that use of a trademark as a keyword advertisement constituted passing off of a trademark, unanimously reversing the trial judge’s decision. The BCCA held that trademark confusion occurs at the moment the consumer first encounters the trademark in the search results, and not the moment the consumer clicks on the link and arrives at the landing page.

Significant legislative changes are on the horizon in the field of genetic testing with Parliament’s recent passage of Bill S-201: An Act to Prohibit and Prevent Genetic Discrimination. The Act will implement broad protections relating to an individual’s right to access their genetic information, as well as to prevent an individual from being required to undergo genetic testing and to disclose the results of their genetic tests. This article examines the legislative changes.