Intellectual Property
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January 10, 2024
Notable copyright developments in 2023
It has again been a busy year in the copyright world with important legislative changes and numerous decisions from the courts to consider.
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January 10, 2024
Manitoba regulator outlaws video ID of clients involved in financial dealings
As part of ongoing efforts to protect its members from being used in money laundering schemes, the Law Society of Manitoba has made it so lawyers can no longer use video conferencing to verify the ID of clients involved in financial transactions.
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January 09, 2024
Court finds invalidity defence raised after failed non-infringement claim to be abuse of process
The Federal Court of Appeal has deemed an invalidity defence raised by a generic drug manufacturer in a patent dispute an abuse of process, citing the company's prior unsuccessful non-infringement claim in a related proceeding involving the same drug.
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January 08, 2024
Three new partners for Aird & Berlis
Aird & Berlis has announced that Yosef Adler, Ryan Ghuman and Queenie Lo have joined the firm as partners and members of the firm’s corporate/commercial group.
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January 05, 2024
Fed Court broadly interprets ‘espionage’ in rejecting study permit for PhD student from China
Ruling on what makes foreign nationals “inadmissible” to Canada on security grounds, the Federal Court has interpreted broadly what constitutes “espionage” that is “against or contrary to Canada’s interests” — a judgment that could make it more difficult for Chinese and other foreign students to obtain permits to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) or other commercially or militarily sensitive subjects at Canadian universities and colleges.
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January 05, 2024
Graphic user interface can be protected by copyright as artistic work
A decision of the U.K. Court of Appeal supports the position that copyright subsists in a graphic user interface (GUI) produced by a computer program (THJ Systems Ltd & Anor v. Sheridan [2023] EWCA Civ 1354).
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January 04, 2024
Court grants injunction against Adidas for similar signage to nearby store
The British Columbia Supreme Court has granted an interlocutory injunction in a case where an Adidas Canada TERREX store in Vancouver had similar and potentially confusing signage compared to nearby outdoor apparel store Arc'teryx.
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January 03, 2024
G7 Heads of IP Office Conversation discusses metaverse, diversity and inclusion
The Canadian Intellectual Property Office’s (CIPO) CEO Konstantinos Georgaras joined counterparts from France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom to “discuss opportunities for collaboration in the global innovation economy.”
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January 03, 2024
Building blocks for human-centred AI governance | Connie L. Braun and Juliana Saxberg
To establish human-centred AI governance, legislation will become the foundation on which the building blocks will be placed, organized and able to evolve. As a human-centred activity, the creation of AI legislation does a lot to emphasize trust and responsibility while, at the same time, allowing for innovation and creativity in the design process.
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January 03, 2024
Federal Court mandates AI-usage disclosure; won’t use automated decision-making tools for now
The Federal Court is actively exploring how its judges and law clerks can use artificial intelligence tools to enhance the “efficiency and fairness of the legal system,” but Chief Justice Paul Crampton says the national trial court “will not use AI, and more specifically automated decision-making tools, to make its decisions or render its judgments, without first engaging in public consultations.”