Intellectual Property Intellectual Property

The nascent CRISPR-Cas9 patent landscape in Canada

CRISPR-Cas9 is a transformative technology with the potential for unimaginable impact. However, two academic groups have been engaged in a...

No breaks in Europe for KitKat bars: Stripped of design protection

Europe’s highest court has invalidated trademark protection covering the shape of the KitKat bar, on the basis that it is not distinctive, in...

Canada’s IP strategy is inspired, but will it inspire innovators?

Why are we so bad at capturing IP in Canada? Because only in rare cases have Canadian business successes been driven by IP, and as a result, IP is...

Federal Court of Appeal infuses greater certainty into the Canadian obviousness analysis

In Ciba Specialty Chemicals Water Treatments Limited v SNF Inc., 2017 FCA 225, the Federal Court of Appeal suggests that trial courts may have...

Welcome to the Canadian pharmaceutical patent dance

For nearly 25 years, Canada’s Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations have been the cornerstone of pharmaceutical patent litigation...

Canada’s patent linkage regulations get long-awaited makeover

On July 15, 2017, the Government of Canada proposed major amendments to the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations, the patent linkage...

Major U.S. court decisions change patent landscape for Canadian companies

A pair of recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions in patent cases have the potential to alter the risk landscape for cross-border commercialization.

Supreme Court holds that promises are not the yardstick to measure patent utility in Canada

The Supreme Court of Canada issued its highly anticipated reasons in AstraZeneca v Apotex 2017 SCC 36. The Supreme Court rejected the “promise...

Supreme Court of Canada upholds global search engine de-indexing decision: Five implications for internet intermediaries

On June 27, 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld an injunction that requires Google to remove an entire website from its global search index, in...