Canada

Case summaries and articles about intellectual property that are relevant to Canada.

August 30, 2019
Woman rubs medicinal cream on her skin

Canadian Drug Pricing Regulator Ordered to Reconsider Differin

2019 FCA 196 – In an ongoing dispute between the PMPRB and Galderma, the FCA says the drug pricing regulator erred in its interpretation of the law.
May 21, 2019
T. Andrew Currier

PCK’s Andrew Currier Recognized in the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory, 2019

As a result of the 2018 Lexpert Survey, Andrew was selected for this year’s directory. “There is no more credible source than Lexpert. Now in its […]
April 16, 2019
Photograph of stacks of coins

Canada Federal Court of Appeal Affirms Punitive Damages Award

2019 FCA 29 - Canada's FCA refuses to intervene in trial judge's decision with respect to punitive damages.
April 2, 2019
Coleen Morrison

Coleen Morrison Recognized by Who’s Who Legal: Trademarks 2019

PCK's Coleen Morrison is recognized by Who's Who Legal.
January 11, 2019

Practical Strategies for Canadian Trademark Applicants from Now until June 17, 2019 when Canada’s new Trademark Law Takes Effect

Strategies for Trademark Applicants from now until the new Trademark Law takes effect in June 2019
November 1, 2018

How Canadian Trademark Law Will be Impacted by Bill C-86

Bill C-86 - an overview on its impacts on Canadian trademark law.
August 14, 2018
Canadian Patent Law Textbook by Perry and Currier. Third Edition

Canadian Patent Law, 3rd Edition Book Launch

PCK IP is pleased to announce the launch of Canadian Patent Law, 3rd Edition.
October 24, 2017

Federal Court Adjourns Motion for Confidentiality Order

2017 FC 548 - In this application for judicial review over s. 5 of the PM(NOC) Regulations, the FC agreed with the AG who argued that since another innovator also had patents listed on the Patent Register pertaining to products to which Innovator Company made comparisons, the other innovator was a necessary respondent to the application.
September 27, 2017
Coleen Morrison

Room for doubt?

CIPO has provided some insight to efforts in advance of the implementation of changes to the Canadian trademark system. The actions are comforting even if the statistics suggest there may be cause for concern in respect of recent Examination quality.
June 20, 2017

FC Finds Torque Anchor Patents Invalid or Not Infringed and Violation of Section 7(a) of Trade-marks Act

2016 FC 1279 - The FC found that API violated section 7(a) of the Trade-marks Act by making false or misleading statements tending to discredit the business, goods, or services of Excalibre, when it sent cease and desist letters to some of Excalibre’s customers.
April 25, 2017

Federal Court finds foreign, non-exclusive licensee entitled to damages

2016 FC 593 - The FC awarded Janssen Canada and Janssen US almost $19 million in total damages for Teva's infringement of a Japanese entity's patent, for which Janssen US had never even exercised its licence in Canada.
March 23, 2017

Canadian 2017 Budget Plan: A Focus on Innovation and IP

2017 Budget Plan - The Canadian Federal Government announced its Budget Plan for 2017, which proposes a number of positive changes to the Canadian intellectual property regime.
April 22, 2016

Federal Court Finds “Rigidification” Patent to be Sufficient but Obvious

2015 FC 997 - The FC found that the invention was merely to add a polymer to the slurry, which was known in the prior art, and to continue to do so until the slurry rigidified. The Court found this solution to be obvious to try, and sufficiently disclosed, even though the meaning of “rigidify” was never made clear.
April 13, 2015

A Tale of Two Startup Superclusters

Why is it that worldwide rankings of startup hubs group together a handful of population centres in Silicon Valley amounting to almost 7.5 million people, but Waterloo and Toronto, with only 124,600 and 5.8 million people respectively, and with equally as much mixing of talent between them, are always ranked separately and pitted against each other as competitors? Toronto and Waterloo are producing some of the most innovative new companies of the future. Fostering talent in both regions and bringing great ideas and great minds together can only work to our mutual benefit and ability to tackle the world scene. Geography should be no object.
March 6, 2015

Three Simple Steps Towards Building a Patent Strategy

Canadians demonstrate excellence at many things. There are the obvious clichés like maple syrup, hockey, politeness and modesty. However, our excellence at politeness hides some of our other impressive strengths, like innovation and technology. In turn, our modesty seems to keep Canadians from protecting their intellectual property (IP) at rates disproportionate to our OECD counterparts. I have been working in the intellectual property field for nearly twenty years and can share many anecdotes of Canadian companies that are world innovation leaders who, because of that charming modesty, essentially give away their intellectual property.
January 27, 2015

TMOB Removes Investment Advice from Atticus’s List of Services

Atticus Canada Inc v Atticus Management LLC, 2014 TMOB 196 - Evidence of trade-mark use consisting of copies of license agreements allowing Atticus Capital LP to use the Mark was taken to demonstrate use in association with financial services generally, but not in association with investment advice.
October 29, 2013

Subject Matter, Obviousness, Double Patenting and Sound Prediction all Issues in Recent FC Case

Bayer Inc. v Cobalt Pharmaceuticals Company [2013 FC 1061] Background This proceeding is an application under the NOC regulations by Bayer seeking a prohibition order to […]
October 8, 2013

FC Invalidates Novartis Patent for Being Unpatentable Subject Matter (Affirmed on Appeal)

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc. v Cobalt Pharmaceuticals Company [2013 FC 985] Affirmed on Appeal [2014 FCA 17] Background This is an application under the NOC regulations […]
July 3, 2013

FC Construes Claim, Holds “a” Means “one”

Zero Spill Systems (Int’l) Inc. v. 614248 Alberta Ltd. – 2013 FC 616 This action concerns allegations of infringement of two Canadian Patents No. 2,258,064 (064 […]
June 13, 2013

CIPO Reiterates Problem-Solution Approach in New Examination Practice Respecting Medical Uses

Effective June 10, 2013  PN2013-04 This Practice Notice builds upon the guidance in section 17.02.03 (Medical and surgical methods) of MOPOP and in PN 2013-02 (Examination […]