On Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued several decisions on intellectual property, including Oracle America, Inc. v. Google Inc. on copyright in APIs and In RE Roslin Institute on the patentability of Dolly the Sheep.
Category Archives: Daily Alert
Chief Justice
Chief Justice Pierre Blais of the Federal Court of Appeal is retiring in June. He was appointed to the Federal Court in 1998 and to the Federal Court of Appeal in 2008. He has been the Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Appeal since 2009.
Agents
The last of a package of amendments to the Patent Rules and Trade-marks Regulations relating to patent and trade-mark agents came into force today. The changes relate to experience requirements, examinations and staying on the register.
US Fee Shifting
Earlier today, the U.S. Supreme Court issued two rulings on attorney fees in patent litigation and fee shifting. In Octane Fitness, LLC v. ICON Health & Fitness, Inc. the court rejected earlier decisions on the ‘exceptional circumstances’ needed to award fees and wrote than exceptional case is “simply one that stands out from others”. Continue reading US Fee Shifting
World IP Day
April 26 is “World IP Day“. WIPO started the event in 2000 to “promote discussion of the role of intellectual property (IP) in encouraging innovation and creativity”. This year’s theme is the movies. Also, CIPO’s patent database will not be available this weekend from 6:00 p.m. on April 25 until 11:00 p.m. on April 27. Continue reading World IP Day
Smartphone “Posner Appeal”
The U.S. Court of Appeal for the Federal Circuit released its decision in Apple Inc. v. Motorola, Inc., the appeal from Judge Posner’s decision on smartphone patent litigation between the two companies. Judge Posner had denied both infringement actions on the basis that neither side could prove damages. In an opinion for the court, along with two opinions dissenting-in-part, the CAFC reversed-in-part, but affirmed, among other things, that Motorola was not entitled to an injunction for infringement of a FRAND-committed patent.
Judicial Appointments
George R. Locke, an IP lawyer with Norton Rose Fulbright in Montréal, René Leblanc, a lawyer with the Department of Justice Canada, and Martine St-Louis, a lawyer with McCarthy Tétrault in Montréal were appointed today to the Federal Court. Justice Boivin was elevated to the Federal Court of Appeal. Appointments were also made to the Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador and Tax courts.
Significant Changes to Trade-marks Act introduced by Budget Bill C-31
Last week, the federal government introduced significant changes to the Trade-marks Act by tabling the omnibus budget bill, Bill C-31, the Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 1 on March 28, 2014. The “monster” Bill makes changes to nearly forty different pieces of legislation, and is designed to enact measures in last month’s federal budget. The trademark amendments will allow Canada to meet its international treaty obligations (including the Nice Agreement, Singapore Treaty, and the Madrid Protocol). According to the government summary, the proposed changes make the Trade-marks Act consistent with the Singapore Treaty, add authority to carry the Madrid Protocol into effect, and simplify the trademark application filing requirements.
Continue reading Significant Changes to Trade-marks Act introduced by Budget Bill C-31
Copyright Treaties
Last week the government authorized the Department of Foreign Affairs to take the actions necessary to bring into force for Canada, the World Intellectual Property Organization Copyright Treaty and the World Intellectual Property Organization Performances and Phonograms Treaty. The coming into force of the treaties will affect the entry into force of several sections of the Copyright Modernization Act from 2012.
Equitable Remuneration
A proposed “Statement” limiting the scope of equitable remuneration under s.19 of the Copyright Act for countries that do not offer a reciprocal right, was published in the Canada Gazette. This will update a similar statement from 1999 for changes to domestic laws and countries which have acceded to the Rome Convention.