Skip to content.

snIP/ITs Blog Monthly Review

Below is our Month in Review for September 2013, highlighting posts on our snIP/ITs blog. You can follow the links to any of these specific posts, or you can visit the blog at www.canadiantechlawblog.com.

 

This blog houses our commentary on the impact of developing Internet, information technology and intellectual property laws, discusses recent technology news and relates insights derived from our experiences in the technology sector. The blog also shares best practices generated by our decrypted, user-friendly and accessible technology and IP team.

We would love to have your comments and suggestions for this Month in Review.

Personal Information and Privacy Issues in Business Transactions: Part 2
By Roland Hung and Andrea Gray on September 30th, 2013

In a previous blog entry we canvassed Canadian privacy legislation and offered businesses a cursory review on how to collect, use and disclose personal information legally in the context of a business transaction. Adding to that information, this entry will look at issues that arise during the due diligence phase of a business transaction and …

Patent Litigation in Canada: A U.S. Attorney’s guide to the Canadian Litigation Process
By David Tait on September 30th, 2013

Canada and the United States are close neighbors. About 300,000 people cross the border each day, and bilateral trade amounts to about $1.6 billion in goods daily. It is not surprising that patent, and other intellectual property disputes, often involve some element of cross-border litigation. The Canadian litigation experience is relatively similar to the American …

Personal Information and Privacy Issues in Business Transactions: Part 1
By Roland Hung and Andrea Gray on September 26th, 2013

The free flow of information is essential to all business transactions and presents both opportunities and obligations for the organizations involved. Inadequate appreciation for the complexity of privacy legislation and the related implications can become not only an obstacle but a liability. This will be the first part in a series of articles that canvass …

Failure to properly wipe data from recycled server costs company $250K, an apology and 160,000 letters of notice
By Kirsten Thompson on September 24th, 2013

In a tale of best intentions gone wrong, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta ("Commissioner") recently found in Bow Valley College (Re), 2013 CanLII 52666 (AB OIPC) that an educational institution that recycled its servers without ensuring the data on them had been wiped had not met privacy requirements. The decision …

Eli Lilly seeks arbitration with Canada over IP-related NAFTA Obligations
By David Tait on September 23rd, 2013

This is the latest chapter in the story involving Canada’s judge-made "promise of the patent" doctrine, which is sometimes referred to as the "promise doctrine" or "promise of the patent". The promise doctrine essentially states that in order to constitute a useful (and therefore patentable) invention, an invention must not only be useful for some …

Ontario Court of Appeal upholds summary judgment dismissing Apotex’s claim for unjust enrichment and disgorgement of profits
By Steve Mason and Brooke MacKenzie on September 18th, 2013

On September 12, 2013, a panel of three judges of the Ontario Court of Appeal unanimously upheld the decision of the Ontario Superior Court earlier this year to grant partial summary judgment to Abbott and Takeda, denying Apotex’s claim for disgorgement of profits on the basis of unjust enrichment. The case involved a claim for …

Cautionary Note for Maufacturers of Communications Technology: Sender of a Text Message Can Be Liable for Distracting a Driver
By Kirsten Thompson on September 12th, 2013

The dangers of texting while driving are well known, with distracted drivers properly found criminally and civilly responsible for the injuries they cause. In an interesting twist, the New Jersey Court of Appeal recently held that the person sending the text to a driver may also be held liable. Context Teenager Kyle Best and his …

Protecting an Employer’s LinkedIn Network: Whitmar Publications Ltd v Gamage & Ors
By Roland Hung and Nathaniel Montgomery on September 4th, 2013

Overview The England and Wales High Court (Chancery Division) recently granted an interlocutory injunction restraining former employees from, among other things, using confidential information gained through the employer’s LinkedIn groups in their new competing business.[1] An employer can use groups on LinkedIn to manage and interact with its employee, customer and supplier networks. As the …