All posts by Alan Macek

Decisions

The Federal Court issued a Notice to the Profession (link) regarding the publication of court decisions. The notice replaces the notice of June 2015 which had said that non-precedential decisions would not be published on the Federal Court website. The new notice, which came into force June 1, says that final decisions, if contested, along with interlocutory decisions considered by the Court to have precedential value, will be published on the website, and additional decisions published to CanLII. If you know of an interesting IP decision, please let me know!

Happy World IP Day

A number of interesting announcements on World IP Day. The focus of the international focus on IP was on Powering change: Women in innovation and creativity. In Canada, the government announced a National IP Strategy having a number of components including $85.3 million over five years to help Canadian businesses, creators, entrepreneurs and innovators understand, protect and access IP. Announced for IP tools, was more efficient dispute resolution and tariff setting at the Federal Court (more judges) and Copyright Board through more funding, formation of a patent collective, improvements to IP used in standards-setting processes, and an IP-specific marketplace. Announced legislative changes include:

  • establishing minimum requirements for patent demand letters;
  • excluding settlement demands from the copyright Notice and Notice regime;
  • Requiring ‘use’ of a trademark to enforce it within the first three years;
  • affirming the patent research exemption;
  • clarifying the role of standard essential patents;
  • allowing continued use of IP by licensees in liquidation proceedings; and
  • creating a College of Patent and Trademark Agents to regulate agents.

In Europe, the UK announced today that it had ratified the Unified Patent Court (UPC) Agreement.

Continue reading Happy World IP Day

IPRs

The United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Oil States Energy Services, LLC v. Greene’s Energy Group, LLC (link), where a majority found that the USPTO’s inter partes reviews (IPRs) were constitutional. In the proceeding, the petitioner had argued that actions to revoke a patent must be tried in an Article III court before a jury, rather than through an administrative procedure.

Continue reading IPRs