Intellectual Property
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January 23, 2024
Privacy Commissioner: Children’s privacy, tech issues key priorities over next three years
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) has announced that protecting the privacy of children and addressing the privacy impact of technological changes including artificial intelligence (AI) will be key priorities for the agency over the next three years.
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January 23, 2024
Federal Court allows appeal in part regarding trademark related to software
The Federal Court has allowed an appeal in part regarding the use of a trademark in relation to a software that creates smart digital files, finding it was not used in Canada during the relevant period.
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January 22, 2024
Environmental and human cost of AI | Connie L. Braun and Juliana Saxberg
The list of commercially available large language models (LLMs) continues to grow. Training any of these LLMs costs substantially.
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January 19, 2024
Notable trademark developments in 2023
The year 2023 has again been a difficult year for trademark owners and their advisers. Hopefully the impact of the pandemic is behind us, but we continue to face unacceptably long processing delays in the Trademark Office although Opposition Board proceedings seem to be doing much better.
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January 18, 2024
Associate joins Smart & Biggar
Intellectual property firm Smart & Biggar LLP welcomes Nikola Rajic to the patents: electronics, information and communications technology group in the Vancouver office.
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January 18, 2024
Help wanted: Effective leadership at the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario | Brian Cook
The position of associate chair of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) is vacant for the fifth time in as many years. Reporting to the executive chair of Tribunals Ontario, a cluster of 14 adjudicative tribunals, the associate chair is effectively the chair of the tribunal, with responsibility for the recruitment and training of new members, management of the case load, development of procedural rules, as well as adjudicative and policy leadership.
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January 16, 2024
Norton Rose Fulbright Canada promotes 14 to partner, two to of counsel
Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP announced that it has promoted 14 of its lawyers to partner for 2024. The following are the names, practices and locations of the new partners:
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January 16, 2024
Notable copyright developments in 2023, part four
Authorizing Infringement: In Voltage Holdings, LLC v. Doe #1 2023 FCA 194, Voltage Holdings, LLC, a movie production company, and the owner of the copyright in the film Revolt, detected that Internet users at certain IP addresses were making the film available using BitTorrent software, a protocol for distributing files on a peer-to-peer network. BitTorrent is well suited for transferring large files such as movies, music or computer software due to its capacity to upload and download files from a group of hosts instead of from a single source server.
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January 15, 2024
Court upholds disclosure order for off-patent drug finding newer patent applicable to the drug
The Federal Court has upheld a decision requiring a pharmaceutical company to disclose certain sales and financial information for an off-patent medication, finding another patent to be applicable to the medicine.
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January 15, 2024
Notable copyright developments in 2023, part three
Subsection 64(2): In French v The Royal Canadian Legion 2023 FC 749 the plaintiff asserted a copyright relating to a stuffed animal modelled after a Dalmatian dog with black-centered red poppies in place of the Dalmatian’s usual simple black spots. The copyright right subsisted in the entire toy. The judge found there was a functional and practical use for the toy as it was a plush toy made to be played with by children. As such, because the toy was a useful article, of which more than 50 had been produced, subsection 64(2) applied.