Intellectual Property
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January 30, 2024
B.C. law protecting intimate images now in force
B.C.’s legislation protecting intimate images has come into force, giving people who have had images or videos shared without their consent new avenues to get them off the internet, stop their distribution and seek compensation.
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January 26, 2024
Vigilance over licensees in trademark agreements
Ensuring sufficient control over licensees is as critical as guarding against infringers when protecting trademark rights.
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January 26, 2024
Federal Court rules against Biogen in trademark infringement dispute with Novartis
The Federal Court has prohibited Biogen from using a trademark for an ophthalmological drug, finding that its use of the mark would infringe Novartis’ right in a registered trademark for a drug used to treat the same medical condition.
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January 26, 2024
Plaintiffs seeking injunction called ‘tempest in a coffee pot’
Business owners who believe that a former colleague has started a competing enterprise using their confidential business information or other proprietary rights sometimes look to the courts to step in and issue an injunction to stop such conduct. Injunctions are a powerful remedy but generally require compelling evidence illustrating the potential harm that would occur if the competing business is not stopped. The cost consequences of losing an injunction motion may dwarf the amount actually at stake in the dispute.
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January 26, 2024
Year in review: Lengthy trademark cases of 2023
There were a number of noteworthy trademark decisions from the Federal Court in 2023, which resulted in new rulings that will have wide ranging implications for the future of comparative advertising and licensing of trademarks.
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January 23, 2024
Privacy Commissioner: Children’s privacy, tech issues key priorities over next three years
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) has announced that protecting the privacy of children and addressing the privacy impact of technological changes including artificial intelligence (AI) will be key priorities for the agency over the next three years.
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January 23, 2024
Federal Court allows appeal in part regarding trademark related to software
The Federal Court has allowed an appeal in part regarding the use of a trademark in relation to a software that creates smart digital files, finding it was not used in Canada during the relevant period.
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January 22, 2024
Environmental and human cost of AI | Connie L. Braun and Juliana Saxberg
The list of commercially available large language models (LLMs) continues to grow. Training any of these LLMs costs substantially.
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January 19, 2024
Notable trademark developments in 2023
The year 2023 has again been a difficult year for trademark owners and their advisers. Hopefully the impact of the pandemic is behind us, but we continue to face unacceptably long processing delays in the Trademark Office although Opposition Board proceedings seem to be doing much better.
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January 18, 2024
Associate joins Smart & Biggar
Intellectual property firm Smart & Biggar LLP welcomes Nikola Rajic to the patents: electronics, information and communications technology group in the Vancouver office.