The Canadian Intellectual Property Office has again extended the period of designated days so certain time limits will now be extended until August 10, 2020.
All posts by Alan Macek
Federal Court
The Federal Court has issued a revised COVID-19 order (see earlier post) clarifying the 2-week buffer period after the end of the Suspension Period such that timelines will be begin to run June 30 for the Western and Eastern provinces and on July 14 for Ontario, Quebec and the territories. The update also clarifies the handling of original affidavits that may have been submitted electronically.
Virtual Hearings
On Friday, I’m speaking on an IPIC webinar, “The Virtual IP Court Hearing: What You Should Know Before You “Zoom” Into Court” with Nicole Mantini, Josh Spicer and Andrew Bernstein. I’ll be sharing some of my recent experiences from the two and half-week virtual trial in the Rovi v Videotron proceeding.
CIPO
Patent Branch has issued a Practice Notice addressing requests to record a transfer, registering document and changing a name under sections 124, 125 and 126 of the Patent Rules and section 49 of the Patent Act.
Foreign Updates
A couple of non-Canadian developments that may be of interest:
- a majority of the US Supreme Court allowed the registration for the trademark “Booking.com” in the face of arguments that it was generic: “According to the PTO, adding “.com” to a generic term—like adding “Company”—can convey no source-identifying meaning. That premise is faulty, for only one entity can occupy a particular Internet domain name at a time, so a “generic.com” term could convey to consumers an association with a particular website.”
- the UK Supreme Court in Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc v Kymab Ltd considered patent sufficiency: “The disclosure required of the patentee is such as will, coupled with the common general knowledge existing as at the priority date, be sufficient to enable the skilled person to make substantially all the types or embodiments of products within the scope of the claim.”
CIPO
Federal Court
The Federal Court has indicated that the Suspension Period for Ontario, Quebec and the territories will end on June 29. The Suspension Period for the rest of Canada already ended on June 15. Continue reading Federal Court
FCA
PMPRB
The Patented Medicines Prices Review Board has released revised proposed guidelines for consultation until July 20, 2020. These guidelines are to accompany the revised Patented Medicines Regulations that are scheduled to come into force January 1, 2021. Continue reading PMPRB
Federal Court of Appeal
The Federal Court of Appeal has announced phase-out of its COVID-19 Suspension Period by identify “Selected Files” on a list to be posted each Monday starting June 22 which are released from the Suspension Period. Continue reading Federal Court of Appeal