CETA: A Very Reasonable Canadian-esque Compromise on Pharmaceutical Intellectual Property Law Changes

At long last, the Canadian Federal Government and the European Commission announced in October that a political agreement has been reached regarding the much anticipated Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). Although the full-text of the agreement has yet to be revealed, Canadians have a pretty good idea of the way in which CETA will affect […]

The Ambiguous Nature of Copyright Users' Rights

Featured here is a summary of Pascale Chapdelaine’s paper, which was selected through blind peer review for the competitive 6th Annual Junior Scholars in Intellectual Property Workshop (Michigan State University, October 2013) where established American IP scholars, commented on Pascale’s and the other selected participants’ papers.

What a Potential Blackberry Sale Says About Canadian Innovation

In a recent Globe and Mail op-ed, columnist Konrad Yakabuski argues that the likely sale and potential breakup of Blackberry would be a major setback to Canada’s innovation agenda.

WIPO Conference: Bringing Copyrighted Works to Visually Impaired Persons and People with Print Disabilities

From June 18- 28, nation states were conducting negotiations for an international treaty to secure copyright exceptions for the visually impaired and people with print disabilities. These discussions, hosted by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), may secure the ability of nation states to allow conversion of published works to braille, large print and audio […]

FIPA: the Full Intellectual Property Assessment

A Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPA) between the People’s Republic of China and Canada is now in the final stages before ratification.  FIPAs are designed to reduce the risk of foreign investment by establishing national obligations to foreign investors.

Imperial Tobacco v Philip Morris: Product Packaging Alone Creates Consumer Confusion

On June 29, the Federal Court of Appeal allowed in part Imperial Tobacco’s lawsuit against Philip Morris, holding that the appearance of Imperial Tobacco’s packaging was in and of itself a trademark. The full decision may be read here.

Who Coined It First? The Advent of Digital Currency

When the Royal Canadian Mint (RCM) announced that it would be creating a digital representation of the Canadian Dollar in the form of MintChip, the digital currency sphere lit up with comparisons to numerous previous attempted forms of digital currencies – most notably Bitcoin, a decentralized electronic cash system developed by Satoshi Nakamoto. 

IP Note: Ysolde Gendreau on the Copyright Act

Professor Ysolde Gendreau from the Faculty of Law at the University of Montreal wrote an interesting opinion piece for the Montreal Gazette last week. The piece canvasses the history of the Copyright Act, and draws an analogy between the current debate and a similar reform process that took place in the 1950s. In her article, […]

Trade Secrets, Transparency, and Temporality

Access to information is generally important in a free and democratic society. It’s particularly important in the context of regulating drugs, medical devices, and other products. In Merck Frosst Canada Ltd. v. Canada (Health), the Supreme Court of Canada affirmed Health Canada’s decision to disclose certain information about Merck’s asthma medication Singulair®. The Court rejected […]

Is Anyone Listening?

The idea of surreptitiously recording confidential conversations as material to be used against someone comes straight out of spy movies and thriller novels. The act itself is clearly reprehensible but it is surprisingly difficult to determine whether legal liability subsists. The actual practice of recording conversations without consent is governed by various criminal, privacy and […]