The Federal Court and Federal Court of Appeal published a book celebrating the 50 years of the Courts. Following a book launch today, the Courts are hosting sessions later this year reflecting on key areas of jurisdiction: immigration, national security, and intellectual property.
Holiday
The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30th has been incorporated into the Federal Courts Rules definition of “holiday”. The Federal Court issued a notice reminding litigants to take this holiday into account when computing deadlines and that hearings are being rescheduled.
Appointments
Several appointments were made today, including:
- Justice Siobhan Monaghan of the Tax Court as a Judge of the Federal Court of Appeal;
- Prothonotary Mandy Aylen as a Judge of the Federal Court;
- Avvy Yao-Yao Go, Clinic Director at the Metro Toronto Chinese and Southeast Asian Legal Clinic in Toronto, as a Judge of the Federal Court;
- Dr. Vanessa Rochester, Counsel at Norton Rose as a Judge of the Federal Court;
- Trent Horne, Partner at Aird & Berlis as a Prothonotary of the Federal Court; and
- Catherine A. Coughlan, General Counsel at the Department of Justice as a Prothonotary of the Federal Court.
Appointments were also made today to the Tax Court and the courts in Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Newfoundland & Labrador. Continue reading Appointments
York University v. Access Copyright
The Supreme Court of Canada issued its decision today in York University v Access Copyright. The Court agreed with the Federal Court of Appeal that the tariff is not enforceable against York University, saying that a user is entitled to obtain its rights through other means than a tariff, so if the user makes an unauthorized use, the appropriate remedy is an action for infringement. The Court did not endorse the fair dealing analysis conducted by the lower courts and declined to make a decision on fair dealing but did discuss that in the educational context it is not only the institutional perspective that matters.
Designated Establishments
CIPO has announced that it is discontinuing the acceptance of correspondence at designated establishments at Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) regional mailrooms as of August 16th. These are currently available in Ottawa, Montréal, Toronto, Edmonton, and Vancouver. CIPO recommends electronic, in person or Canada Post as alternatives.
Consultations
Two consultations were announced today:
- the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board announced a consultation on updated guidance relating to Gap medicines, the references to the comparator countries and the international price tests for Grandfathered medicines and their line extensions, all arising from the six month extension to the coming-into-force of the new Regulations.
- The government announced a consultation on the copyright framework relating to artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things, including data mining, authorship and ownership of works created by AI, infringement and liability regarding AI, and repair and interoperability issues related to technological protection measures.
Gazette Amendments
Several IP related amendments have been published in the Canada Gazette:
- College-related for the coming into force of the College on June 28th (see earlier post):
- By-laws of the College of Patent Agents and Trademark Agents (Board),
- By-laws of the College of Patent Agents and Trademark Agents (College),
- Code of Professional Conduct for Patent Agents and Trademark Agents Regulations,
- Order Fixing the Number of Directors Under the College of Patent Agents and Trademark Agents Act
- Amendments to the Federal Courts Rules that came into force on June 17th (see earlier post):
- Rules Amending the Federal Courts Rules – relating to jurisdiction of Prothonotaries, books of authorities, timelines for defences among other things
- Rules Amending the Federal Courts Rules – relating to various miscellaneous updates
- PMPRB-related (see earlier post on delaying Patented Medicines Reporting Requirements that were to come into force on July 1st): Regulations amending the Regulations Amending the Patented Medicines Regulations (Additional Factors and Information Reporting Requirements)
Patent Rules
Proposed amendments to the Patent Rules are published for consultation in the Canada Gazette to address patent term adjustment and other changes to streamline prosecution. The proposed amendments include excess claim fees, limits on office actions and requests for continued examination, updating rules on sequence listings and some miscellaneous amendments.
Assignor Estoppel
Yesterday, the US Supreme Court upheld but limited the doctrine of assignor estoppel for patents in Minerva Surgical Inc. v. Hologic Inc.: “When an assignor warrants that a patent claim is valid, his later denial of validity breaches norms of equitable dealing. … [But an] example of non-contradiction is when an assignment occurs before an inventor can possibly make a warranty of validity as to specific patent claims.”
College
The new College of Patent Agents and Trademark Agents came into force today. The College’s website is now live with more information on the college including its bylaws and code of conduct for agents. The changes to the Patent Rules, Trademarks Regulations and implementing Regulations for the College were published last week.