Home » Category: 'Blogs' (Page 63)

Blogs

The Highs and Lows of Patenting Marijuana Strains

The Highs and Lows of Patenting Marijuana Strains

After over 95 years of prohibition, recreational usage of marijuana will be legalized nation-wide on October 17th. While the Cannabis Act will transform cannabis breeding from an illegal cottage industry to a legitimate profession, there has so far been no corresponding change in plant breed intellectual property protection. While there are some protections under existing Canadian law, they are weak […]

Advances in Securing the Bridge to Innovation: Recent Progress on Combating Patent Trolls

Advances in Securing the Bridge to Innovation: Recent Progress on Combating Patent Trolls

Over the last decade, patent trolls have become a prominent intellectual property (IP) issue. Patent trolls are companies that exploit IP as tools for litigation instead of innovation, using purchased patents to threaten other companies to enter into a licensing deal or face a patent infringement lawsuit.  Companies targeted by patent trolls can face huge […]

Telecom Network Innovation: XaaS and New Business Models in the 5G Era

Telecom Network Innovation: XaaS and New Business Models in the 5G Era

The 17th Annual Canadian Telecom Summit (CTS2018) must have set the “innovation skeptic's" expectations high by centering on the fifth-generation (5G) network theme and related developments. For example, the “Network Innovation: Transforming networks & applications for nexgen services” panel’s discussion touched on automation, network virtualization, data monetization, and Internet of Things (IoT) commercialization. However, despite the […]

5G Networks Promise More Innovation and Disruption — But They Promise More Regulatory Discussions, Too

5G Networks Promise More Innovation and Disruption — But They Promise More Regulatory Discussions, Too

On June 4 to 6, 2018, the 2018 Canadian Telecom Summit (“CTS 2018”) featured discussions on the rise of a new protagonist in the information domain — 5G wireless networks. The event provided scope for continuing the conversation on how to support 5G deployment and what the new technology will mean to entrepreneurs, innovators, the […]

Canada's Progress with Making Innovative Technology Accessible & Affordable

Canada's Progress with Making Innovative Technology Accessible & Affordable

For the third year in a row, Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, was a keynote speaker at the Canadian Telecom Summit (“CTS”).  In his closing keynote for CTS 2018, he reiterated the importance of increasing the quality and coverage of innovative technologies at affordable prices for Canadians. He then updated the […]

Art from Fragments: A Legal Framework for the Growth of Canadian Hip-Hop and Digital Sampling

Art from Fragments: A Legal Framework for the Growth of Canadian Hip-Hop and Digital Sampling

Digital audio sampling—a music production technique whereby sound-clips are extracted from songs and incorporated into new tracks via computer software—is a staple of hip-hop music. With the increased accessibility of Canadian music via apps like Spotify, coupled with the growing Canadian hip-hop music scene, there is great potential for the usage of Canadian musical samples […]

A Recipe for Protection - A look at trademarks in the restaurant industry

A Recipe for Protection - A look at trademarks in the restaurant industry

There’s no denying that the restaurant business is a primary gateway to the workforce for many, with well over 1.2 million Canadians being employed through this $80 billion industry. While the quality of a restaurant’s food is integral to the restaurant’s financial success, the strategic use of intellectual property (IP), particularly trademarks, can give a […]

Nothing to Turn Your Nose up at: Playdoh and the dawn of scent trademarks

Nothing to Turn Your Nose up at: Playdoh and the dawn of scent trademarks

On Friday, May 19th, Hasbro announced that the characteristic scent of their well-known Play-Doh product has been officially recognized by the United States Patent and Trademark Office as a registered trademark of the brand. This presents a major step forward in the evolution of “scent trademarks”, with Hasbro being by far the largest corporation to […]

The Right to Forget and not Forget in Spain

The Right to Forget and not Forget in Spain

On May 13, 2014, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) issued a landmark decision that allows EU citizens the “right to be forgotten” – basically, the right to withdraw consent over the processing of an individual’s personal information. Under that ruling, individuals have the right to ask Google and other search engines […]