PCK-Reporter

September 28, 2015

Reputation Management

A well-organized Reputation Management Plan is now a required tool in any corporation’s communication portfolio. Here are a few ideas that should go into your Reputation Management Plan.
September 22, 2015

Crafting a Suitable IP Strategy – Tips from the Pros!

Many startups are basing their business plans and valuations on their innovation; patents and industrial designs can be the most valuable asset of the company. One of the best strategies to secure protection for your innovation involves the filing of a self-written provisional patent application. On October 21, beginning at 5 p.m., PCK will be providing a hands-on session in which founders can learn the basics of patents from Andrew Currier.
September 22, 2015

Making a Blurry & Illegible Copy is still Copyright Infringement

Geophysical Service Inc v Antrim Energy Inc, 2015 ABQB 482 - The Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench found copyright infringement even though the copy that was made was blurry and completely unusable.
September 21, 2015

“OUTRIGGER” Trade-mark Expunged for Deviation

Padcon Ltd v Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP, 2015 FC 943 - Padcon's trade-mark for "THE OUTRIGGER STEAKHOUSE AND BAR" was expunged for lack of use by deviation. It's only use was the inclusion of the term "OUTRIGGER" on restaurant menu items and promotional materials.
September 18, 2015

The ITC Asserts Jurisdiction over Digital Patent Infringement

ClearCorrect Operating LLC, et al v International Trade Commission (No 2014-1527) - An appeal to the Federal Circuit will determine whether the ITC has jurisdiction over digital patent infringement: the ability to block the importation of patent-infringing “articles” if those articles take the form of digital information.
September 16, 2015

FC Finds Novartis Patent Promises a Mechanism of Action, not a Treatment

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc v Teva Canada Limited, 2015 FC 770 - Novartis was able to uphold its patent against allegations of invalidity from Teva, but not without the Federal Court making a number of razor thin distinctions between what the patent promised and what it did not.
September 15, 2015

FCA Rejects “Exact Matching” Requirement in PM(NOC) Regulations

Eli Lilly Canada Inc v Canada (Attorney General), 2015 FCA 166 - The FCA rejected the notion adopted by the Federal Court that a higher level of specificity is required to adhere to the Regulations than is required for an element to be claimed as a matter of claim construction, bringing the law in line with Industry Canada proposed amendments.
September 9, 2015

The Word “will” can Indicate a Patent Promise, not an Expectation

AstraZeneca Canada Inc v Apotex Inc, 2015 FCA 158 - The FCA acknowledged that the word “will” often refers to an expectation or goal rather than a promise, but still held that the FC did not err in finding that a promise was made when reading the patent as a whole from the eyes of a skilled reader.
September 8, 2015

Federal Court Revisits Schmeiser Differential Method for Calculating Profits

ADIR v Apotex Inc, 2015 FC 721 - In an accounting of profits case, the FC stated that if a non-infringing alternative is to be considered, it “cannot be what one would have done had one complied with the law”.
September 2, 2015

In Situ Reaction Cannot Avoid AstraZeneca’s Product Claim

AstraZeneca Canada Inc v Apotex Inc, 2015 FC 322 - Claim 1 was worded general enough to capture Apotex’s subcoating layer even though Apotex’s subcoating layer was generated by an in situ chemical reaction, a process that the patentee had not contemplated.
August 20, 2015

USPTO Proposes AIA Rule Changes

USPTO Proposes AIA Rule Changes - Proposes to affirm the "broadest reasonable interpretation standard" in IPR proceedings and other changes.
August 17, 2015

IPR Proceedings in the US retain the Broadest Reasonable Interpretation Standard for Claim Construction & Strict Claim Amendment Requirements

Microsoft Corporation v Proxyconn, Inc, - The “broadest reasonable interpretation standard” (“BRI”) standard is the standard for claim construction in Inter Partes Review IPR proceedings and newly substituted claims must be demonstrated to be patentable over the prior art of record.
August 10, 2015

Patent Royalties Restricted to Term of the Patent by SCOTUS

Kimble et al v Marvel Entertainment, LLC, 576 U.S. ____ (2015) - The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the 50 year old rule from Brulotte v Thys Co, 379 US 29, that prohibits royalties from being charged on formerly patented products after the patent has expired.
July 5, 2015

ONSC Orders Inspection and Photographs of One-of-a-Kind Home in Copyright Infringement Case

Tan-Jen Ltd v Di Pede, 2015 ONSC 3685 - In a copyright infringement case regarding supposedly one-of-a-kind design moulds for a home's exterior, the Court allowed inspection of the property for valuation purposes and refused a request to keep the court proceedings closed from the public.
June 30, 2015

Writing Provisional Software Patent Applications

In the age of the “Lean Startup” $100,000 can be enough to get a startup well off the ground. However, with such tight budgets and limited funding there is often not much room left to pay a professional patent agent several thousand dollars to draft your patent application. This article provides some pointers on how to draft your own provisional software patent application.
June 30, 2015

ABQB Upholds Patent Assignment from Employee Despite Partially Unpaid Salary

Groves v Canasonics Inc, 2015 ABQB 314 - After a falling out between a director and Canasonics Inc., the former director sought to ensure that any intellectual property in critical unpatented tools remained his own, and sought to reverse the transfer of a number of patents that he had already assigned to the company.
June 29, 2015

Corporate Restructuring Fails to Avoid Injunction for Trade-mark Infringement

Agros Trading Confectionery SPZOO v K-Max Corp, 2015 ONSC 3166 - This case is an example of one company, who was sued for trade-mark infringement, attempting to evade the court ruling by incorporating a new company to continue selling the infringing products. Even though the infringement was taking place under new companies, infringers were still bound by an injunction preventing them from selling the infringing goods.
June 27, 2015

Patent on Airport Security Trays Proven to have a Surprising Impact on Airport Efficiency

CD 1377 - Security Point Media's patent on “Advertising Trays for Security Screening” was found to be nonobvious considering a number of factors, such as the impact of the invention on the industry.
May 26, 2015

Interlocutory Injunction Upheld by FCA in Trade-mark Infringement Case

Jamieson Laboratories Ltd v Reckitt Benckiser LLC, 2015 FCA 104 - The FCA upheld an interlocutory injunction preventing Jamieson Laboratories Ltd. from selling its omega-3 fatty acid supplements under the name “OMEGARED”. The injunction was awarded largely because of the finding that Jamieson had strategically rebranded its product line from “Super Krill” To “Omega Red” in order to frustrate the entrance of Reckitt’s “MEGARED” product line into the Canadian market.
May 23, 2015

FCA Upholds Rejection of a Motion for Particulars to Rebut Industrial Design Proprietorship

Imperial Manufacturing Group Inc v Decor Grates Incorporated, 2015 FCA 100 - Faced with the rebuttable presumption that Decor was the proprietor of the industrial design, it was on the plaintiff to adduce evidence to the contrary, not to fish for the supporting facts from Decor during pleadings.