Skip to content

2019 intellectual property year in review

Daniela Bassan

Noteworthy cases

Keatley Surveying Ltd. v. Teranet Inc., 2019 SCC 43

Considering Crown copyright for the first time, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld the dismissal of a class action brought by land surveyors in Ontario. The surveyors claimed that their copyright was infringed when Ontario licensed a third party to store and provide electronic copies of  their survey plans registered and deposited at the land registry office. As Halifax partner Daniela Bassan noted in her case comment, “[t]he case turned on the construction of section 12 of the Copyright Act.”

Bell Media Inc. et al v GOLDTV.BIZ, 2019 FC 1432

For the first time in Canada, the Federal Court issued a “site-blocking” order to compel Internet Service Providers to block subscribers from having access to websites containing copyright-infringing content.

Voltage Pictures, LLC v Salna, 2019 FC 1412

The Federal Court of Canada denied certification of a class of respondents who had allegedly violated copyright in certain films by uploading and downloading copies of the films on peer-to-peer websites. The Federal Court found that the applicant movie production companies did not meet the requirements for the “reverse class” to be certified.

Thomson v. Afterlife Network Inc., 2019 FC 545

In an “obituary piracy” class proceeding, the Federal Court awarded $10 million in statutory damages and $10 million in aggravated damages for infringement of 2 million works on the Afterlife website.  The vast archive of obituaries and photographs was created on the website without the consent of the class members who owned the copyright in the works. St. John’s partner Erin Best represented the successful class representative, Dawn Thomson.

Noteworthy legislation

In April 2018, the federal government launched Canada’s Intellectual Property (“IP”) Strategy to “amend key IP laws to ensure that we remove barriers to innovation” and “create an independent body to oversee patent and trademark agents, which will ensure that professional and ethical standards are maintained, and will support the provision of quality advice from IP professionals”.  In 2019 those legislative changes came into force:

Amended Trademarks Act

Significant amendments to the Trademarks Act came into force on June 17, 2019. The changes enable Canada to comply with international treaties in IP as well as modernizing its trademark regime. Changes include:

  • addition of mandatory classes of TM goods and services
  • removal of Declaration of Use prior to TM registration
  • addition of “bad faith” as a ground for TM opposition

New College of Patent and Trademark Agents 

The College of Patent Agents and Trade-mark Agents Act established a new independent regulator of licensed trademark and patent agents in Canada. The legislation sets out the professional competence standards that have to be met by licensees. In August 2019, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, announced the inaugral directors of the College Board which will establish a licensing system to govern the licensees. A transition period between 1-2 years is expected before the College is fully operational.

Noteworthy events

Stewart McKelvey, in partnership with the Women’s Networking Group of the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada (“IPIC”) co-hosted two national events attended by clients and colleagues:

  • Trailblazers: An Evening to Celebrate Women in Intellectual Property, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, with local ”trailblazer” Ulrike Bahr-Gedalia, President of Digital Nova Scotia, being featured.
  • Professional Networking Breakfast featuring RBG – A Documentary about Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The documentary served as the backdrop for participants to share experiences as women in IP and STEM related professions.

Stewart McKelvey also sponsored the FIN Atlantic International Film Festival and IEEE Women In Engineering (WIE) Leadership Summit as well as the Harold G. Fox Canadian IP Moot.  Stewart McKelvey lawyers also presented and participated in a number of events, including CBA National IP Day in Ottawa and IPIC’s Annual Conference in Gatineau.


This update is intended for general information only. If you have questions about the above, please contact a member of our Intellectual Property group.

 

Click here to subscribe to Stewart McKelvey Thought Leadership.

SHARE

Archive

Search Archive


 
 

Powering the future: Green choice program regulations

September 22, 2023

By Nancy Rubin, K.C. and Lauren Agnew The long-awaited Green Choice Program Regulations (N.S. Reg. 155/2023) were released by the provincial government on September 8, 2023, offering some clarity into the practical implementation of Nova…

Read More

Privilege protected: Court of Appeal rules NL’s Information and Privacy Commissioner barred from reviewing solicitor-client privileged information

September 20, 2023

By Koren Thomson, John Samms, and Matthew Raske The Newfoundland and Labrador Court of Appeal has held that the Information and Privacy Commissioner for this province (the “Commissioner”) does not have the authority to order…

Read More

Amendments required for Prince Edward Island code of conduct bylaws

September 18, 2023

By Perlene Morrison, K.C. Municipalities are required to pass code of conduct bylaws in accordance with section 107 of the Municipal Government Act (the “MGA”). Subsection 107(1) of the MGA specifically states that a municipality’s…

Read More

Professionally speaking: Ontario Superior Court upholds professional regulators’ right to moderate speech

September 14, 2023

By Sheila Mecking and Kathleen Starke On August 23, 2023, the Ontario Superior Court (“ONSC”) upheld a complaints decision which ordered a psychologist to complete a continuing education or remedial program regarding professionalism in public…

Read More

One-year reminder for federal employers: Pay equity plans due September 3, 2024

September 5, 2023

By Dante Manna As we advised in a previous podcast, all federal employers with at least ten employees[1] have been subject to the Pay Equity Act [2] (“PEA”) and Pay Equity Regulations [3] (“Regulations”) since…

Read More

Charging to net-zero: Government releases draft Clean Electricity Regulations

August 23, 2023

By Nancy Rubin, K.C. Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) recently published a draft of the Clean Electricity Regulations (CER). The proposed Regulations work toward achieving a net-zero electricity-generating sector, helping Canada become a net-zero…

Read More

Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador rejects developer’s constructive expropriation claim

August 18, 2023

By Stephen Penney & Matthew Raske In the recent decision Index Investment Inc. v. Paradise (Town), 2023 NLSC 112, the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador validated the Town of Paradise’s decision to rezone lands…

Read More

IRCC expands authorization for foreign workers to study without a study permit: Four things you need to know

July 13, 2023

By Sara Espinal Henao Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (“IRCC”) has announced a promising new temporary measure that allows foreign workers to study for a longer duration without a study permit, opening the door for…

Read More

Canada’s first-ever Tech Talent Strategy announced

July 12, 2023

By Brendan Sheridan The Government of Canada recently announced a number of aggressive immigration measures to help attract top talent to Canada in high-growth industries in an effort to fuel innovation and drive emerging technologies.…

Read More

ESG and dispute resolution: fighting for greener ways

July 5, 2023

By Daniela Bassan, K.C. All stakeholders in the legal profession, including litigators, have a shared interest in promoting environmental, social, and governance (ESG) pathways towards building a greener society. It is crucial for litigators to…

Read More

Search Archive


Scroll To Top