This was a motion for summary trial in a passing off and expungement case between competitors in the mobile video game market. The Court (per Fuhrer J.) held that summary trial was an appropriate vehicle for deciding the Plaintiff’s claims for passing off and expungement of the Defendant’s registration – and that those claims were […]
Court Dismisses Passing Off and Expungement Action After Summary Trial Read More »
On May 31, 2024, the Federal Court (Roy J) released its decision on the summary judgment motion brought by the Attorney General of Canada (“AGC”) on behalf of Parks Canada, in which he dismissed Blacklock’s Reporter’s (“BR”) copyright infringement action against the AGC. This matter is one of several related and contextually similar actions brought
On May 29, 2024, the Federal Court (Whyte Nowak J.) granted Red Maple Manufacturing Inc.’s (the “Applicant”) appeal pursuant to subsection 56(1) of the Trademarks Act. The Applicant appealed a decision from the Trademarks Opposition Board (“the Board”) ordering the removal of certain goods from the Applicant’s Trademark Registration. Red Maple Manufacturing Inc. v. Red
Red Maple Manufacturing Inc. v. Red Maple Bio Inc. 2024 FC 817 Read More »
Parliamentary Committee Issues Report on PMPRB Reform. Calls for “Comprehensive Response” by the Government On May 6, 2024, Canada’s Standing Committee on Health (“HESA”) issued a report containing “ten recommendations on how the Government of Canada can enable the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (“PMPRB”) to more effectively carry out its mandate and implement its
The Federal Court of Appeal (per Heckman J.A.) dismissed an appeal by Steelhead LNG (ASLNG) Ltd. and Steelhead LNG Limited Partnership (collectively, “Steelhead”) from a summary trial judgment dismissing Steelhead’s patent infringement action. This appeal turned on the meaning of “use” under section 42 of the Patent Act. Steelhead LNG (ASLNG) Ltd v Arc Resources
Federal Court of Appeal Interprets “Use” in Section 42 of the Patent Act Read More »
The Federal Court of Appeal (per Locke JA.) affirmed a trial decision in which claims in Lilly’s patent covering physiologically acceptable salts of tadalafil were found to be invalid for overbreadth and insufficiency. The principal issue on appeal was the proper construction of the claim term “physiologically acceptable”, though the Court’s obiter statements regarding the
Federal Court of Appeal Confirms That Cialis Patent is Invalid Read More »
The Federal Court (Tsimberis J.) dismissed an appeal by Promotion in Motion, Inc. (“PIM”) from a Trademark Opposition Board (“Board”) decision refusing PIM’s applications to register its SWISSKISS mark and SWISSKISS & Design mark in association with “chocolate of Swiss origin”. Hershey Chocolate & Confectionary LLC (“Hershey”) successfully opposed PIM’s applications based on Hershey’s registered
In Medexus Pharmaceuticals v Accord Healthcare (2024 FC 424), Justice Pallotta dismissed the plaintiffs’ (“Medexus”) patent infringement action after finding that the patent at issue (“662 Patent”) was invalid for obviousness. The 662 Patent related to concentrations of subcutaneously injected methotrexate solutions used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis/psoriatic arthritis. The decision addresses an interesting
The Federal Court (per Furlanetto J.) has held that the Commissioner of Patents (“Commissioner”) acted reasonably in denying a request for reinstatement of a patent that lapsed due to non-payment of an annual maintenance fee. This decision underscores the importance of having multiple lines of communication between a patent agent and a client – and
The “Due Care” Standard for Patent Reinstatement in Canada: A Very High Bar Read More »
In Pharmascience v Janssen, the Federal Court of Appeal (Locke JA writing for the Court) held that the claims in Janssen’s patent to a dosing regimen are not prohibited as a method of medical treatment. Pharmascience v Janssen, 2024 FCA 23 The Prohibition Against Patenting Methods of Medical Treatment The patentability of methods of
