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.
US Supreme Court on Patents
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.
Top Patentees in Canada 2013
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.
Copyright Treaties
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.
Patent Volume in 2013
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.
Status of the Artist
At the hearing of Canadian Artists’ Representation/Front des artistes canadiens et al. v. National Gallery of Canada today, the Supreme Court of Canada allowed the appeal and indicated an oral judgment would follow. The proceeding related to the interplay of the Status of the Artist Act and the Copyright Act.
Forgotten?
Earlier today, the European Court of Justice held that under European law individuals have the right to request that Google remove certain links that appear when someone searches for their name. The Court considered that Google’s activities were ‘processing of personal data” within Europe and that an internet search engine operator is responsible for the processing that it carries out of personal data which appear on web pages published by third parties.
APIs and Sheep
On Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued several decisions on intellectual property, including Oracle America, Inc. v. Google Inc. on copyright in APIs and In RE Roslin Institute on the patentability of Dolly the Sheep.
Chief Justice
Chief Justice Pierre Blais of the Federal Court of Appeal is retiring in June. He was appointed to the Federal Court in 1998 and to the Federal Court of Appeal in 2008. He has been the Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Appeal since 2009.
Agents
The last of a package of amendments to the Patent Rules and Trade-marks Regulations relating to patent and trade-mark agents came into force today. The changes relate to experience requirements, examinations and staying on the register.