The United States and China have joined forces in a combined operation to crack down on counterfeit goods, seizing more than 243,000 counterfeit electronic products, including popular consumer items made by Apple, Samsung, Dr. Dre and Blackberry.
A recent lawsuit filed by Myriad Genetics involving the alleged infringement of their controversial breast cancer screening tool has included the prestigious Toronto SickKids hospital as a co-plaintiff. This lawsuit has been a source of criticism for the hospital and has reinvigorated the debate on the merits of public-private research collaborations in health care innovation.
On July 13, 2013, the New York Times published an article on Erich Spangenberg’s business enterprise, IPNav, which is considered to be one of the largest Patent Assertion Entities (“P.A.E.s”) in the world. Analyzing the business model of P.A.E.s is important to understanding the legal limits of these entities.
Is a podcast analogous to a cassette tape recording of a magazine article? Jim Logan of Personal Audio thinks that it is, and that it thereby infringes his patent.
A little over a week ago, the Fraser Institute, a prominent and independent Canadian public policy think tank, released a report calling for a strengthening of intellectual property protection for pharmaceuticals in Canada. The report claims that the changes would produce an increase in trade opportunities and access to foreign markets that would generate an […]
On July 16, 2013, the Federal Court released its decision granting the largest award of damages for patent infringement in Canadian history. In Merck & Co., Inc. v. Apotex Inc. (2013 FC 751) (“Merck”), Justice Snider found that Merck is entitled to over $119 million in damages, plus interest, for Apotex’s infringement of Merck’s patent […]
In late June, the Federal Circuit again decided Ultramercial v Hulu – a case brought by Ultramercial claiming infringement of their patent for serving online media preceded by advertising. Ultramercial’s patent has been widely criticized by many commentators who view the patent as one describing an abstract concept, and believe the decision is destined for a Supreme Court appeal.
On November 24, 2011, the Federal Court of Appeal released its decision for Amazon.com, Inc. v. The Commissioner of Patents, 2011 FCA 328. This case related to patent application 2,246,933 filed by Amazon.com, Inc. entitled “Method and System For Placing A Purchase Order Via A Communications Network”. Popularly known as the “one-click shopping cart” case, […]
The dividing line between intellectual property and antitrust laws was further clarified last week when the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) settled a debate on the illegality of Reverse Payment Agreements (RPAs) in Federal Trade Commission (FTC) v Actavis. In so doing, the Court split the difference between the FTC’s assertion that RPAs […]
Canada Day is fast-approaching. This means it’s also time to prepare your submissions to Canada’s IP Writing Challenge! The submission deadline is Monday July 1, at 5pm. The winner from each category will receive a prize of $1000 (CAD), publication on the IP Osgoode website, and consideration for publication in the Canadian Intellectual Property Review […]