Justice Marc Nadon of the Federal Court of Appeal was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada yesterday. He was a judge of the Federal Court and Federal Court of Appeal since 1993.

Justice Snider of the Federal Court, who wrote many leading intellectual property decisions, is retiring effective October 12, 2013. Also, earlier this week the government appointed judges to the British Columbia, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Ontario, PEI and Quebec courts.

Supreme Court of Canada – Justice Nadon was formally appointed this afternoon by the Prime Minster after being nominated earlier this week and going through a short hearing before members of parliament. He is being appointed to replace Justice Fish who retired in August. The Right Honourable Beverley McLachlin, Chief Justice of Canada issued a short statement which mentions his experience with intellectual property law:

Justice Nadon is an eminent judge”, said Chief Justice McLachlin.  “He brings extensive experience on the bench, as well as deep expertise in administrative law, intellectual property, and maritime law. I look forward to the contribution of this distinguished jurist to the work of the Court.”

Justice Snider – Justice Snider is retiring from the Federal Court effective October 12, 2013. She has been a judge of the Federal Court since 2002 and had taken an interest in intellectual property proceeding. She has written many significant intellectual property decisions, including many on remedies, such as the following. One database lists 98 reported intellectual property decisions.

• Jay-Lor International Inc. v. Penta Farm Systems Ltd., 2007 FC 358 which among other things considered the calculation of reasonable royalties for damages.
•  Merck & Co., Inc. v. Apotex Inc., 2013 FC 751 (lovastatin) awarding $120 million in damages after considering non-infringing alternatives and reasonable royalty rates
• Apotex Inc. v. Sanofi-Aventis, 2012 FC 553 (ramipril) which was the first quantum decision under Section 8 of the PM(NOC) Regulations which resulted in a $215 million award.
• Pfizer Canada Inc. v. Canada (Health), 2007 FC 898 which considered the “Saccharin Doctrine” on the importation of product made by a patented process abroad.

Her most cited decision on CanLII is in immigration law on the test for whether state protection might reasonably be forthcoming is an objective one. Her absence from the Court particularly from IP proceedings will be felt by everyone appearing before the Federal Court.

Court Appointments – Earlier this week, several judicial appointments were made by the federal government. The appointments included:

• Ontario (Announcement) – Honourable Katherine van Rensburg and Honourable William Hourigan to the Court of Appeal (formerly at the Ontario Superior Court); Honourable Peter Douglas and Honourable Marc Garson to the Ontario Superior Court; and several internal appoints with the Ontario Court.
• British Columbia (Announcement) – Honourable Gary Weatherill to the Supreme Court of BC.
• Manitoba (Announcement) – Honourable Christoper Mainella to the Court of Appeal for Manitoba and Honourable James Edmond to the Court of Queen’s Bench of Manitoba.
• Nova Scotia (Announcement) – The Honourable Mr. Justice J. Edward Scanlan to the Court of Appeal of Nova Scotia; Honourable Elizabeth Van den Eynden, Honourable Joshua M. Arnold, Honourable James L. Chipman and Honourable Robin Gogan to the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia.
• Prince Edward Island (Announcement) – The Honourable Nancy Key to the Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island.
• Quebec (Announcement) – The Honourable Stephen Hamilton to the Quebec Superior Court.