A mixed verdict was issued today by the jury in the Oracle v. Google proceeding on the Android system and the Java language. The jury determined that Google has infringed the overall structure, sequence and organization of copyrighted works but the jury did not rule on Google’s “fair use” defence
Category Archives: Daily Alert
ECJ on software
The European Court of Justice in SAS Institute Inc. v. World Programming Ltd, C‑406/10 held that functional aspects of software are not an “expression” protected by copyright.
Patents in 2011
The number of patent applications published or that entered national phase in Canada in 2011 was down slightly. Smart & Biggar, Gowlings and Norton Rose remained the top three patent firms by volume of applications for 2011. My list of patents firms by volume is now available for 2011.
Canadian Trademark firms in 2011
Trademark filings for 2011 were up about 7% from 2010. The percentage of trademark applications filed directly by the applicant increased from about 17% in 2010 to about 20% in 2011. My list of the top trademark firms by volume is now available for 2011. Continue reading Canadian Trademark firms in 2011
Australian High Court on ISP liability for copyright infringed
On Friday, the High Court of Australia dismissed an appeal by content companies in Roadshow Films Pty Ltd v iiNet Limited, [2012] HCA 16 (summary) on the basis that under the Australian Copyright Act the ISP was not to be held liable as having authorised infringements by its customers using BitTorrent.
Continue reading Australian High Court on ISP liability for copyright infringed
USSC on Orange Book information
The U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision today in Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories, Ltd. v. Novo Nordisk A/S on patent listing requirements in the FDA’s “Orange Book” for patented drugs. Caraco, an ANDA filer, brought a counterclaim in Novo’s Hatch-Waxman infringement action seeking an order that Novo correct patent information in the Orange Book on the basis the patent did not claim a use of the drug.
Copyright gray market and Hatch-Waxman
The U.S. Supreme Court granted cert today in Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. relating to gray market textbooks and the copyright first sale doctrine. Also today, the CAFC released two decisions relating to the Hatch-Waxman Act.
Appropriation of Personality
In a decision released recently, the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta in Hay v. Platinum Equities, 2012 ABQB 204 granted damages for the appropriation of personality of a “non-celebrity”.
Google AdWords and Trademarks
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit released a decision earlier this week in Rosetta Stone v. Google, remanding issues of trademark infringement in the summary judgment appeal relating to Google’s AdWords program.
Judges on the move
Judges were appointed today to the Ontario Court of Appeal, the Quebec Court of Appeal, the B.C. Court of Appeal, the Saskatchewan Court of Queen’s Bench, the Superior Court of Quebec, and the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. In other judicial news, former Supreme Court Justice Ian Binnie has announced that he is joining Lenczner Slaght.