Bill C-31, a budget bill that among other things, amends the Trade-marks Act passed third reading in the Senate yesterday. It is expected to receive royal assent soon, perhaps as early as this evening. The date of entry into force will be determined by an Order in Council.
[Update: Bill C-31 did receive Royal Assent this evening, June 19, 2014. See the status on the Parliament of Canada website.]
The United States Supreme Court affirmed the en banc CAFC decision in Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank Int’l that the claims were directed to a patent-ineligible abstract idea.
The government announced today that the “Notice and Notice” provisions of the Copyright Modernization Act will come into force in January 2015 without additional regulations.
Three new Federal Court judges were appointed today: Honourable Henry S. Brown (of Gowlings), Honourable Keith M. Boswell (of Stewart McKelvey) and Honourable Alan Diner (Baker & McKenzie). These judges are replacing Justice Snider, who resigned in October 2013, Justice Harrington who elected to become a supernumerary judge as of April 2014 and Justice O’Keefe, who elected to become a supernumerary judge. Judicial appointments were also made today to the Ontario, Saskatchewan, Quebec, Nova Scotia and Alberta courts, including Justice Mainville, formerly of the Federal Court of Appeal, to the Quebec Court of Appeal.
Last month, the Supreme Court granted the appeal in Canadian Artists’ Representation v. National Gallery of Canada at the hearing and today, issued its reasons. The Court held that minimum fees for the provision of artists’ copyrights for existing works are eligible for inclusion in scale agreements under the Status of the Artist Act and were not contrary to the Copyright Act.
A Private Members Bill, An Act to amend the Trade-marks Act (public authority), was introduced yesterday proposing changes to the Official Marks regime under the Trade-marks Act. The proposed changes include an opposition procedure and periodic renewals.
Today, the United States Supreme Court issued two decisions on patents. In Limelight Networks v. Akamai Tech the Court held that direct infringement was required for a finding of inducing infringed. In Nautilus v. BioSig the Court considered patent claim indefiniteness.
BlackBerry tops the list of owners receiving the most Canadian patents during 2013. The others in the top five were Qualcomm, Schlumberger, P&G and LG Electronics. Approximately 23,800 Canadian patents were granted last year to about 9900 applicants.
Canada has ratified the WIPO Copyright Treaty and WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty. The instruments of ratification were deposited with WIPO on May 13, 2014 and the treaties will enter into force three months later, on August 13, 2014. The entry into force of these treaties triggers the entry into force of certain provisions of the Copyright Modernization Act.
The number of patent applications published in 2013 or that entered national phase in Canada in 2013 was approximately the same as in 2012 at about 34,900 application. Smart & Biggar, Gowlings and BLG top the list of firms by volume of applications.