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snIP/ITs Blog Monthly Review

Below is our Month in Review for June, 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.

The Aereo Decision – Canadian Content?
By Daniel G.C. Glover on June 26th, 2014

Careful observers of the United States Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision yesterday in American Broadcasting Cos., Inc. et al v. Aereo, Inc. may have detected a small Canadian flavour in the majority’s reasoning. As will be revealed, this was no coincidence, and McCarthy Tétrault played a small role by filing an amicus brief on behalf of …

You can stay anonymous: SCC recognizes a privacy interest in protecting anonymity on the Internet
By Charles Morgan and Roland Hung on June 22nd, 2014

On June 13, 2014, in a landmark privacy ruling, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) in R v Spencer (Spencer) unanimously recognized that, in addition to confidentiality and control of the use of personal information, there may be a privacy interest in protecting anonymity in the context of internet usage. In this decision, the SCC …

Federal Court Dismisses Notion that Patents Should be Given Only One Interpretation for All Purposes
By Sanjaya Mendis and Steven Tanner on June 19th, 2014

Summary In a pair of simultaneously released decisions on June 13, 2014, Justice O’Reilly allowed Allergan’s applications (Application) prohibiting the Minister of Health from issuing NOCs to Cobalt (now Actavis) (2014 FC 566) and Apotex (2014 FC 567) to market their generic versions of LUMIGAN RC® until the expiry of Canadian Patent 2,585,691 ...

PM(NOC) Proceedings: Apotex defeats Bayer’s Canadian patent on oral contraceptive YAZ
By David Tait on June 19th, 2014

On June 4, 2014 Justice Roger Hughes of the Federal Court released his public reasons for dismissing Bayer’s prohibition application against Apotex in respect of its generic YAZ tablets on the basis that Apotex’s non-infringement allegation was justified. His confidential judgment was issued on May 7, 2014 and Apotex received its NOC the very next …

Canadian Trademarks: Cathay Pacific wins battle over "Asia Miles" versus "Air Miles"
By David Tait on June 19th, 2014

On June 11, 2014 Justice O’Reilly of the Federal Court released his decision relating to the registerability of the trademark "Asia Miles" in light of opposition from Air Miles International. The trade-marks opposition board had upheld Air Miles International’s opposition to the registration of "Asia Miles". Justice O’Reilly, on an application for judicial review, interfered …

Notice and notice regime under C-11 coming into force
By Barry Sookman on June 18th, 2014

The Government announced today that the notice and notice regime established under C-11 is coming into force. The delay in bringing these provisions into force was a consultations on possible regulations that the regime permitted. The Government announced that the provisions are coming into force without regulations. The regime permits copyright owners to send notices …

What’s the difference between Google and an elephant? An elephant never forgets.
By Kirsten Thompson on June 11th, 2014

Last month, in a bombshell decision, the European Union’s Court of Justice (CJEU) demanded that Google "forget" certain items. The demand resulted from a CJEU decision that individuals have a right to request that a search engine remove certain webpage links from the search results of a search including the individual’s name. The ruling is …

Big Data – Big Problem? The FTC Recommends the US Congress Reign in Data Brokers
By Kirsten Thompson on June 11th, 2014

Big Data is the term used to describe the enormous datasets that are beyond the ability of most software to process. Statistical analysis of these giant data sets can allow the holder to predict baseball outcomes (think Moneyball), pregnancy and, apparently, the stock market. These enormous data sets however, are made up of data pertaining …

Compliance with CAN-SPAM Does Not Equal Compliance with CASL
By Roland Hung on June 10th, 2014

We are approximately a month away from the effective date of Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL), July 1, 2014. CASL is widely considered to be among the toughest anti-spam legislation in the world and will have significant implications for businesses. All commercial electronic messages sent (i) by any person within Canada, or (ii) by any person …

Privacy Breaches: Statutory Torts of the British Columbia’s Privacy Act Override Forum Selection Clauses
By Sean Griffin and Anne-Elisabeth Simard on June 10th, 2014

On May 30, 2014, the Supreme Court of British Columbia rendered a judgment certifying a class action against Facebook Inc. In Douez v. Facebook Inc., the plaintiff alleges that Facebook used the names or portraits of Facebook users without their consent in advertisements called Sponsored Stories in breach of section 3(2) of the British …