Both the Federal Court (link) and Federal Court of Appeal (link) have updated their e-filing systems to require payment of any filing fees before the documents will be processed. Previously, payment could be arranged later through separate communications with the Registry.
Tag Archives: Federal Court
Federal Courts Rules
Amendments to the Federal Courts Rules, primarily to update the Tariff B regime for cost awards, are coming into force later this month. The amendments introduce a new Tariff B that has three columns, more litigation steps and more units. The Rules Committee estimates it will increase cost awards by about 25% “thereby aligning the tariff more closely with the amounts typically awarded under the ‘lump sum’ approach” and provide a “more consistent and predictable regime.” The changes also replace remaining references to “Prothonotary” with “Associate Judge”. Continue reading Federal Courts Rules
Federal Court
Chief Justice Paul Crampton is retiring this week from the Federal Court after 16 years with the Federal Court and 14 years as Chief Justice. Associate Chief Justice Martine St-Louis will serve as Acting Chief Justice of the Federal Court effective October 31, 2025. Continue reading Federal Court
Proceeedings
Several matters started earlier this year were missed from the email alerts, including several IP proceedings. These missed IP proceeding are included below. Continue reading Proceeedings
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
The Federal Courts and the Canadian Intellectual Property Offices will be closed on Tuesday September 30th for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to honour the children who never returned home and survivors of residential schools. Continue reading National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
Federal Court
The Federal Court has issued an updated New Case and Trial Management Guidelines for Complex Proceedings, Proceedings under the PM(NOC) Regulations, and Appeals under Subsection 56(1) of the Trademarks Act, effective immediately. The updates are specific to appeals of the Registrar of Trademarks under subsection 56(1) of the Trademarks Act and particularly requests for leave to file new evidence and requesting case management.
Federal Court
The Federal Court has issued Amended Consolidated General Practice Guidelines. Some changes identified include ending the ability to file by email (except in limited circumstances) [s19]; mandatory bookmarks for PDF files [s19e]; personal service and proof of service [s31, 34, 35]; access to court files [s37-39]; determination of motions in writing [s45-50]; and publication of decisions [s88-90].
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.
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.