Articles 2023

Allow me to reintroduce you to Samantha Peters (she/her/they/them) – no stranger to the spotlight. Samantha, who proudly identifies as a black queer femme, was called to the bars of Alberta and Ontario in 2020. In that short time, she has made a palpable impact on the legal profession because of her innovative and rebellious approach to the practice of law and the seemingly fearless way in which she navigates the margins that contemporary Canadian society imposes on her intersecting identities.

Ransomware incidents are becoming a daily reality of doing business in Canada and around the world. With this threat seeing a recent rise in frequency and severity, it is prudent for organizations to put in place the proper measures to safeguard themselves against future attacks.

For the past few years, the copyright infringement saga involving Rallysport Direct LLC (Rallysport) and its former wholesaler has made its way through the courts. The Federal Court found that there was copyright infringement and awarded Rallysport both statutory and punitive damages. The wholesaler recently appealed this finding, but, the appeal was dismissed by the Federal Court of Appeal. The question remains: is this the end or another step on the way to the Supreme Court of Canada?

The Ontario Centre of Innovation (OCI) has been a strong presence in Ontario’s entrepreneurial space for the last few decades. During this time, it has continued its objective to sponsor research and commercialization between industry and academia to exploit made-in-Ontario technologies. This work has led to several Ontario success stories and increased recognition for the importance of intellectual property to the economic growth of the Province.

In addition to the COVID-19 pandemic’s heavy influence on employment law, 2021 also saw the introduction of new law dealing with employees’ “right to disconnect” and the near-banning of non-competition clauses and agreements. Additionally, a series of prominent and influential decisions emerged from Ontario’s Human Rights Tribunal, Superior Court and Court of Appeal relating largely to workplace culture issues. We discuss this and more in our look back at 2021, and what’s to come in 2022.