In-House Counsel
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July 16, 2025
Federal Court rules pulsed electric field tech not covered by McCain patent on french fry treatment
The Federal Court has dismissed a patent infringement suit brought by McCain Foods, finding that the company’s claims over electric field processing of potatoes for french fries does not extend to a newer pulsed electric field (PEF) technology, which applies higher electric fields in rapid pulses.
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July 16, 2025
Navigating AI in legal practice: Responsibilities, risks and realities, part one
Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping the legal landscape. It’s already revolutionizing the delivery of legal services, by offering tools that can be used to enhance efficiency in research, drafting, document management, client service … and so much more.
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July 16, 2025
Be cautious when using a variant of a registered trademark
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is the registered owner of the trademark SAGE & Design Mark, for use in association with “restaurant services; catering services.” The registration does not include a colour claim.
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July 16, 2025
Dentons stands by its commitment to inclusion as it navigates trade volatility, say CEOs
These are “interesting times” to be one of the world’s largest law firms. With about 5,900 lawyers across more than 80 countries, Dentons is helping clients navigate some of the worst economic volatility in decades and generational technological change as it carefully works to protect its own flanks from a U.S. administration that’s frequently been hostile to the legal sector. Global CEO Kate Barton said that while several major U.S. law firms have been targeted by President Donald Trump — particularly those perceived as opposing him or representing his adversaries — Dentons has managed to avoid the administration’s scrutiny by maintaining a bipartisan approach.
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July 16, 2025
View from inside prison: Opening the box
I’m not a person who is hugely attached to things. I have no trouble throwing out or giving away old clothes or furniture or even books. But I do tend to hang on to reminders of my past life, such as letters and pictures.
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July 16, 2025
Prepare for change: The plain language legal writing standard is coming
What lawyer has not heard that legal writing should be clear and concise? Everyone wants legal documents to be straightforward, client-oriented and “crisp.” Yet, cryptic memoranda, wordy submissions, legalese-filled judgments and insurmountable walls of text in contracts and policies remain common. Even with clarity in mind, writing clearly is hard without knowing the rules to guide the process.
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July 15, 2025
B.C. court affirms Labour Board’s power to bar shifting ‘struck’ work beyond province
The British Columbia Court of Appeal has upheld an order that barred an airline catering provider from relying on catering crews outside of B.C to load meals onto flights going through Vancouver, where its workers were on strike.
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July 15, 2025
No complaint required to trigger harassment investigation obligation, Ontario Court of Appeal confirms
In a significant ruling, the Court of Appeal for Ontario has upheld Metrolinx’s decision to dismiss five employees for sexual harassment. The case, Metrolinx v. Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 1587, 2025 ONCA 415, highlights that employers are obligated to investigate potential workplace harassment allegations even without a formal complaint or the participation of the alleged victim.
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July 15, 2025
Termination clauses: The unenforceable
Recently I was reviewing the briefs that counsel had submitted for a mediation, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that counsel for the employer had not even bothered to assert that the termination clause was enforceable. It clearly was not in light of the current state of the law, but that does not usually stop counsel from making the argument.
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July 14, 2025
Federal Court judge strikes SRL’s submission in employment dispute over AI hallucination citation
In another sign of AI’s growing impact on the law, the Federal Court has ordered that a self-represented respondent’s motion record be removed from a court file because it relied in part on a non-existent court decision hallucinated by an artificial intelligence (AI) research tool.