The Trademark Opposition Board has issued a practice notice requiring a “Declaration of use of AI” when “generative AI is used to create content in a document”. A couple of decisions have identified hallucinated decisions cited in submissions – see 2024 TMOB 150 and 2024 TMOB 211.
All posts by Alan Macek
Judges’ Dinner
I’m looking forward to catching up with friends and colleagues at the CBA IP Day and Judges’ Dinner in Ottawa this week. Some stats from the Federal Court for discussion:
- from 2019 to 2024 the number of filings went from 2095 (390 or 18.6% of which were IP-related) to 3521 (289 or 8.2% were IP-related)
- in 2019 there were 9 IP trials with 55 trial days, and in 2024 there were 7 IP trials with 54 trial days. So far in 2025, there have been 5 IP trials and 65 trial days.
Federal Court
The Federal Court has updated its FAQ on how to request copies of court documents and now has a dedicated email address for these requests – see FAQ. Some documents are available for download directly from the docket listings – see my docket browser tool.
CIPO
The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) has announced an infrastructure upgrade and that all e-commerce applications will be unavailable from Friday, March 14 at 4 pm (ET) until Monday, March 17 at 6 am (ET).
Appointments
Darren Thorne, Member, Refugee Appeal Division, at the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada in Toronto, and Andrew J. Brouwer, Senior Counsel, Refugee Law Office, at Legal Aid Ontario in Toronto were appointed Judges of the Federal Court. Appointments were also made today to the courts in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec.
Appointments
Danielle Ferron, Partner at Langlois Lawyers LLP in Montréal, was appointed a Judge of the Federal Court. Appointments were also made today in British Columbia, Quebec, Ontario, and the Tax Court.
Trademark Amendments
Several amendments to the Trademarks Act and accompanying regulations are coming into force on April 1, 2025. To the Act, the changes include challenges to prohibited marks, limits on relief if there has been no use by the trademark owner, and changes to the discretion of the Federal Court on appeals from the registrar. The amendments to the regulations are directed to cost awards, confidentiality, and case management at the TMOB.
CIPO
The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) has announced an infrastructure upgrade and that all online services will be unavailable on Saturday, February 22 from 5 am to 6 pm (ET).
Appointments
Kirkland G. Shannon, Director General and Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Law Commission of Canada in Ottawa, was appointed an Associate Judge of the Federal Court. Appointments were also made today to the Tax Court, and courts of New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, and Alberta.
Continue reading Appointments
Malware
Unfortunately, the IPPractice.ca website got some malware on Friday which would try to redirect visitors. Thanks to everyone who reached out to let me know. The website has been cleaned up.