In a recent decision, Benjamin Moore & Co. v. Canada (Attorney General), 2022 FC 923, the Federal Court again rejected the approach the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) took in assessing patentable subject matter and endorsed a legal framework that is consistent with previous decisions by the Supreme Court of Canada and the Federal Court … Read more
Recently, the Federal Court of Canada issued a decision, Beijing Judian Restaurant Co. Ltd. v. Meng, 2022 FC 743, which is the first decision in Canada that expunged a registered trademark on the new “bad faith” ground that was codified in the Trademarks Act in 2019. Summary A trademark troll lost his/her trademark registration because … Read more
According to section 12(1)(b) of the Trademarks Act of Canada, a trademark is not registrable if it is “clearly descriptive or deceptively misdescriptive … of their place of origin.” In Nia Wine Group Co., Ltd. v. North 42 Degrees Estate Winery Inc., 2022 FC 241, the Federal Court of Canada reasoned that “place of origin” … Read more
In Kobold Corporation et al v NCS Multistage Inc, 2021 FC 1437, a decision dated on Jan. 7, 2022, the Canadian Federal Court released the first judicial interpretation of the current version of section 56(1) of the Patent Act, which relates to the prior-use defense of patent infringement. The court held, in paragraphs 100-106, that … Read more
For the first time, the Federal Court interpreted the privilege granted to a non-lawyer patent agent by section 16.1(1) of the Patent Act in Janssen Inc and Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation v Sandoz Canada Inc, 2021 FC 1265. In its decision, the court determined that the privilege is restricted compared to the client-attorney privilege between … Read more