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Patentability

Blockchain on Every Street Corner – Walmart and the Rise of Mainstream Blockchain Patents

Walmart’s American patents and reported patent-related activities over the last few months show just how common blockchain-based technology is going to become in the immediate future. Walmart currently holds such patents for a delivery management and locker reservation system, and for a system of managing individual medical records. They have reportedly filed patent applications for a […]

The Highs and Lows of Patenting Marijuana Strains

After over 95 years of prohibition, recreational usage of marijuana will be legalized nation-wide on October 17th. While the Cannabis Act will transform cannabis breeding from an illegal cottage industry to a legitimate profession, there has so far been no corresponding change in plant breed intellectual property protection. While there are some protections under existing Canadian law, they are weak […]

Broken Promises: Utility Standards and Patent Applications in Canada

The last day of June 2017 saw the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) quash the controversial Promise Doctrine. The issue at hand in AstraZeneca Canada Inc v Apotex Inc was whether the Promise Doctrine should be held as the correct standard of utility under the Patent Act. The SCC’s ruling finds the Promise Doctrine unsound […]

What Makes It My Molecule: A Look at Professor Ronald Pearlman’s Genome Editing Work

This past November, Professor Ronald E. Pearlman from York University’s Department of Biology gave a talk [1] at Osgoode Hall Law School to discuss the potential of the innovative CRISPR genome editing system. Central to the talk was the evolving nature of genome editing technology and the ethical concerns that come with its growing breadth of […]

Utility Emphasis Lacking in the Examination of Aggregations

The distinction between combinations and aggregations is a well-accepted principle of patent law. A combination is an assemblage of known elements whose combined use leads to a result that is different from the sum of the results of the individual elements. Whereas, an aggregation is an assemblage of elements that each produce their expected result […]

Big Telecom versus Video Games: Big Implications

As reported on Kotaku.com – “British Telecommunications, a multinational mega-conglomerate with origins dating back to the 1800s, is suing Valve, a video game company that can’t count to three”. British Telecommunications (BT) alleges that on-line services offered by Valve infringe on four U.S. patents held by BT. The patents at trial are broadly worded and could implicate […]

The Not-So-Obvious Aspects of an Obviousness-Type Double Patenting Analysis

The granting of a patent has often been described as a bargain [1] between the government and the patentee. In exchange for the exclusive right [2] to make, construct, use and sell their invention, the inventor will disclose the details of their discovery and, upon the patent’s expiry, the invention will be made available to […]