Region: North America

In Canada, options available to in-house counsel in the misappropriation of trade secrets and confidential information are very different to those in the United States.

16 April 2009

In <i>Adidas America Inc v Payless ShoeSource Inc</i> the District Court for the District of Oregon applied its discretion in conducting its own analysis and arriving at a revised damages award. It drastically reduced a jury award for trademark and trade dress infringement from $305 million to $65 million.

25 February 2009

A recent decision of the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit extended Omega’s control over its watches to include how they are imported into the United States by third parties. The court ruled that the first-sale doctrine is no defence to a copyright owner’s right to control the importation of foreign-manufactured goods into the United States.

18 February 2009

In <i>Ricoh Company, Ltd v Quanta Computer Inc</i> the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reviewed the issue of liability for contributory infringement and inducement of infringement. In doing so, the Federal Circuit re-evaluated the balance between non-infringing uses and claims of contributory infringement.

04 February 2009

A recent decision of the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit may have changed patent litigation in 2009 and beyond. The decision transferred a case from the Eastern District of Texas, a popular forum for patent-related lawsuits, to the Southern District of Ohio, and could result in a wave of transfers of actions that do not have the necessary nexus to the courthouse in Marshall, Texas.

28 January 2009

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has issued its decision in <i>In Re Bilski</i>. Although the decision is primarily directed to so-called “business method” patents and is therefore of particular significance to the financial services and online retailing communities, it has broader application to all process patents.

12 November 2008

The Federal Court of Appeal has rendered a decision in <i>DBC Marine</i>, a closely watched case concerning the inadvertent lapse of patent rights. However, the ruling could have implications beyond the inadvertent abandonment of rights in a patent application.

08 October 2008

Natural health products (NHPs) represent a growing market in Canada. This has made protection and dealing with regulatory authorities more important for manufacturers and sellers than ever. A myth persists that no protection of intellectual property is available for NHPs; but this is a common misconception.

24 September 2008

Since 1927 Canadian courts have held that a patent is not invalid simply as a result of a misrepresentation made during the prosecution of the application, at least in the absence of fraud. Allegations of such misrepresentation are frequently based on the applicant’s response to a request from the patent examiner under Rule 29 of the Patent Rules.

27 August 2008

Canadian patent agents are regularly called upon to file patent applications in at least three jurisdictions - Canada, the United States and Europe. As a result, agents need to master a balancing act in order to file correctly in each jurisdiction.

06 August 2008