Articles 2019

Gain international legal experience with an overseas organization. Check!

When the Patent Law Treaty comes into force for Canada on October 30, 2019, it will be the second time this year and the third time within the last two years that Canada has made an official statement to the international community that it is serious about “going global” and joining yet another major international WIPO treaty.

The economic and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela persists, causing more than 2.3 million Venezuelans to flee their country. The author argues that it is concerning to note that despite the definition of a 'refugee' as defined in the 1951 Refugee Convention, the international community has failed to consider these individuals as Convention refugees. The author therefore posits that those Venezuelans fleeing the crisis meet the criteria to be considered as Convention refugees.

The conflict in Afghanistan has continued for nearly 40 years now, leading to the disintegration and weakening of the rule of law across the country. In May 2003, Afghanistan became a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (“ICC”), enabling the Afghan government to exercise criminal jurisdiction over individuals accused of international crimes. Afghanistan’s accession to the Rome Statute was a small but important step on the long road to eventual accountability.

On March 18, 2019, the World Intellectual Property Organization (“WIPO”) reported that Canada has ascended to the three major international trademark treaties (the Singapore Treaty, the Madrid Protocol, and the Nice Agreement). Canada's ascension to these treaties marks a policy towards establishing an efficient and welcoming environment for all types of businesses that may seek to relocate, and successfully establish and protect their brands in Canada and abroad.

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