The Federal Court issued a Practice Notice today regarding informal requests for interlocutory requests such as extensions or abridgement of time, leave to amend pleadings or the style of cause, bifurcation, and other procedural matters on consent. The Notice sets out the requirements for such requests by way of letters, in place of formal motion records.
Continue reading Informal Requests
Tag Archives: Federal Court
For those on Twitter, the Federal Court has now joined as @FedCourt_CAN_en and @Courfed_CAN_fr. You can also follow me at @amacek. Continue reading Twitter
Judicial Appointments
Judges were appointed to the courts in Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, Alberta and the Federal Courts. John Laskin of Torys was appointed a judge of the Federal Court of Appeal and William Pentney, Deputy Minister of Justice and Deputy Attorney General of Canada, was appointed a judge of the Federal Court.
Judicial Appointments
Judicial appointments have been made in the Federal Court, Ontario, Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, and British Columbia. In the Federal Court, Prothonotary Lafrenière was appointed as a judge.
“Miscellaneous Amendments”
Proposed amendments to the Federal Courts Rules have been published that are described as “non-substantive, non-controversial”. The proposed changes address differences between the English and French versions and reduce the number of paper copies required in some circumstances. Consultation is open for 60 days.
Protective Orders
My recent article on the use of protective and confidentiality orders in the Federal Court is available on Slaw. This topic was one of the items discussed last week at the Federal Court town hall and was the subject of an order released last week which stated, “The open court principle is of crucial importance in a democratic society, … Confidentiality orders inherently compromise these fundamental principles and important rights.” Continue reading Protective Orders
CETA
Bill C-30, the CETA implementation legislation received royal assent today. The Bill includes amendments to the Patent Act, regarding supplementary protection for pharmaceutical products and altering patent linkage system, and to the Trade-mark Act regarding geographic indicators with grounds of opposition and certain exceptions for prior use, acquired rights and generic terms. Amendments are also proposed to a number of other acts. Implementation regulations are expected any day.
CBA IP Day
After a kickoff at the Diversity Breakfast, CBA IP Day continued with the Federal Court’s Town Hall focused on the imminent overhaul to pharmaceutical litigation in Canada, including two years to trial, focused discovery, changes to costs regime and efficient trial management. Bill C-30, the CETA implementation legislation cleared the senate this afternoon. Continue reading CBA IP Day
Judges’ Dinner
Looking forward to catching up with friends and colleagues at the CBA IP Day and Judges’ Dinner in Ottawa – please say hi if you will be there too. The day begins with a Diversity Breakfast and a Town Hall with members of the Federal Court, followed by the CBA IP Professional Development program in the afternoon and concludes with the Judges’ Dinner.
Trial Management
The Federal Court issued a practice notice on trial management conferences and procedures. The guidelines identify issues to be determined at pre-trial conferences and trial management conferences as well as impose new deadlines for pre-trial steps.