The Federal Court has issued a discussion paper on costs in the Federal Court. A subcommittee of the Federal Courts Rules committee is seeking comments by November 23, 2015 on costs, including on addressing improper, vexatious and unnecessary litigation, access to justice and methods of calculating costs.
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Happy Birthday
Chief Judge George King of the Central District of California issued a decision yesterday (PDF) in favour of plaintiffs who argued that Warner/Chappel Music had no right to collect royalties for “Happy Birthday To You” in the United States. After tracing the history of the song back to the 1890s, he concluded that Warner/Chappell Music’s predecessor never acquired the rights to the Happy Birthday lyrics from the purported authors. Continue reading Happy Birthday
US Injunction
Today, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued its latest decision in the Apple v. Samsung patent dispute. In a split decision considering, among other things, the USSC’s eBay decision and the requirement of a ‘causal nexus’ between the alleged irreparable harm and the alleged infringement, the court vacated the lower court’s decision not to award a permanent injunction and remanded . Continue reading US Injunction
Prothonotaries
The Federal Court has posted a notice that it is seeking applicants to fill an existing vacancy in Ottawa and create a pool of candidates for future positions in Ottawa, Montréal, Toronto and Vancouver. Continue reading Prothonotaries
Plant Breeders’ Rights
Canada has notified WIPO that Canada has ratified the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants. The treaty will enter into force on July 19, 2015 which follows the amendments earlier this year to the Plant Breeders’ Rights Act.
Appointments
Multiple appointments were made today, including to the Federal Court, Federal Court of Appeal, courts of Nunavut, Québec, Manitoba, BC, Ontario and Alberta, the Tax Court and to CIPO. Continue reading Appointments
PM(NOC) Amendments
Amendments to the PM(NOC) Regulations relating to the listing of patents against combination drugs have been made. The amending regulations, substantially in the form published in May, were registered last week and will be formally published on July 1st in the Canada Gazette.
Competition
The Competition Bureau has published draft “Intellectual Property Enforcement Guidelines” for public comment. The guidelines will describe the Bureau’s position on issues such as patent settlements, including under the PM(NOC) Regulations, standard essential patents, and patent assertion entities.
Marrakesh Treaty
Bill C-65, entitled “An Act to amend the Copyright Act (access to copyrighted works or other subject-matter for persons with perceptual disabilities)” has been introduced to implement the Marrakesh Treaty. Continue reading Marrakesh Treaty
Judicial Appointments
The Honourable Patrick Gleeson, formerly a Canadian Forces legal advisor has been appointed to the Federal Court. Appointments were also made today to the courts in BC, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan and to the Competition Tribunal and the Tax Court.