Proposed substantive amendments to the Patent Rules have been published for consultation. Among other things, the amendments overhaul filing requirements, the timing of responses to CIPO notices and the abandonment procedures and are directed to implementing the Patent Law Treaty.
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Top Patentees 2016
In 2016, approximately 26,400 patents were granted by the Canadian Patent Office, up significantly from the approximately 21,900 granted in 2015. BlackBerry was again the top recipient of patents, with over twice the patents obtained as any other applicant. The remaining applicants in the top-five were The Boeing Company, Halliburton Energy Services, Qualcomm and Schlumberger Canada. Continue reading Top Patentees 2016
Patent Volume in 2016
The number of patent applications published in 2016 or that entered national phase in Canada in 2016 were up slightly over 2015 at about 34,400 application. Smart & Biggar, Gowlings and Norton Rose Fulbright Canada top the list of firms by volume of applications. Continue reading Patent Volume in 2016
CETA Proposed Regulations
Proposed amendments to overhaul the patent linkage regime and add certificates of supplementary protection were published today in the Canada Gazette, Part 1. Amendments to the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations will replace the current summary procedures with full actions including rights of appeal. New Certificate of Supplementary Regulations are proposed to provide for up to two years of additional exclusivity based on the time to obtain a notice of compliance for a drug containing a new medicinal ingredient or combination of medicinal ingredients. A number of other proposed regulatory amendments relating to CETA were also published. There is a 15-day consultation period.
Promise Doctrine
In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court held today that the promise doctrine is not the correct approach to determine whether a patent has sufficient utility. As a result, the lower court decisions finding the patent at issue directed to Esomeprazole/Nexium invalid for want of utility, were set aside.
Forum Selection Clauses
The Supreme Court of Canada issued its decision today in Douez v. Facebook, Inc., in which the majority, in a split decision, allowed the appeal and held that the forum selection clause should not be enforced. The plaintiff sought certification for a class action against Facebook alleging the company used her name and likeness without consent for the purposes of advertising, contrary to BC’s Privacy Act. A forum selection clause in the terms of use required disputes to be resolved in California under California law.
Also today, the Supreme Court announced it would release its decision next week in Google Inc. v. Equustek Solutions Inc. et al. on extraterritorial injunctions. Continue reading Forum Selection Clauses
Consultation
Proposed regulatory amendments to the Trade-marks Regulations and the Industrial Design Regulations have been published. Consultations are being considered through to mid-July. These changes include substantive changes to implement Madrid Protocol, Singapore Treaty and Nice Agreement for trademarks and Hague Agreement for industrial designs. Continue reading Consultation
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.
Updates
Here are several news items that may be of interest:
- An Order in Council has indefinitely suspended implementation of the private right of action under CASL, Canada’s anti-spam legislation. The private right of action was scheduled to come into force on July 1, 2017.
- CIPO has advised that it will beginning a series of consultations over the summer on proposed regulatory amendments for Industrial Design Regulations, Trade-marks Regulations, Patent Rules relating to implementation of the Hague Agreement, Madrid Protocol, Singapore Treaty, the Nice Agreement and the Patent Law Treaty.
- Global Affairs Canada has announced consultation on the renegotiation and modernization of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The government invites submissions on a variety of topics including intellectual property.
Venue
The United States Supreme Court issued its decision in TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC stating that corporate ‘residence’ refers only to the state of incorporation. The patent venue statute, 28 U. S. C. §1400(b), provides that “[a]ny civil action for patent infringement may be brought in the judicial district where the defendant resides, or where the defendant has committed acts of infringement and has a regular and established place of business.” This decision will likely have a significant effect on the number of cases filed in Texas, which saw 37% of all patent cases in 2016.