Jurisdiction

August 20, 2020
Close-up photograph of a wooden judge's gavel.

Federal Court Can Now Interpret Contracts in Patent Ownership Disputes

Salt v Baker - In a unanimous decision, the Federal Court of Appeal confirmed the Federal Court’s jurisdiction to hear contractual disputes involving patents.
September 13, 2018

Canada’s Federal Court Orders Variation of the Records of the Patent Office to Rectify Mistake in Application

2018 FC 311 – Pursuant to section 52 of the Patent Act, the FC ordered the variation of the Patent Office Records in relation to Canadian Patent Nos. 2,614,533 and 2,919,266 to rectify a mistake in the name of the legal owner of the patents.
September 5, 2017

Canada’s Federal Court Confirms it has Exclusive Jurisdiction to Amend an Issued Patent

2016 FC 229 - The FC heard and granted an uncontested application by Novartis, pursuant to sections 31(3) and 52 of the Patent Act, to vary all entries in the records of the Patent Office with regards to the inventorship of a Canadian Patent.
May 23, 2017

SCOTUS Lands a Blow Against Patent Trolls by Limiting Patent Litigation Venues

581 U.S. ___ (2017) - SCOTUS reaffirmed one of its previous holdings to find that the proper venue for bringing a patent infringement suit against a domestic corporation is either where the defendant resides, or where the defendant has committed acts of infringement and has a regular place of business.
March 10, 2017

Federal Court implies that it only has jurisdiction to expunge or vary titles to patents, not record documents to them

2016 FC 1092 - The FC heard and granted an order to vary the records of the Patent Office for Canadian Patent No. 2,630,594, but refused to order the recording of documents to it.
August 29, 2016

FC Rejects Jurisdiction over Contract Law in Assignment Dispute, Comments that s. 51 of the Patent Act Supersedes Conflict of Laws Principles

2016 FC 830 - The FC dismissed a case of contractual dispute over the ownership of a patent, and commented that, regardless of whether conflict of laws principles apply, no assignment or transfer of a patent can take place except in accordance with the laws of the jurisdiction in which the patent was granted (s. 51 of the Patent Act).
February 11, 2015

Receiving Copyrighted Material Considered a Presumptive Connecting Factor in Seismic Data Dispute

Geophysical Service Incorporated v Arcis Seismic Solutions Corp, 2015 ABQB 88 - The Court analogized misuse of confidential information to copyright infringement to decide that the jurisdiction where the copyright-infringing material was received was also significant.
June 20, 2013

Federal Court Rules It Has Personal Jurisdiction over Provincial Crown Defendants in Proceedings Seeking Remedies under the Patent Act

Safe Gaming Systems Inc. v. Atlantic Lottery Corporation, 2013 FC 217   Before filing their defences to this patent infringement action, the Defendants moved to strike […]