Bill C-56, a new and inevitably controversial piece of proposed legislation, was introduced on March 1, 2013. With the short title, Combating Counterfeit Products Act, the message seems simple, but contained within it are extensive proposals to change both the Copyright Act and the Trade-marks Act in Canada.
The Myriad Genetics gene patenting saga has officially shaped international jurisprudence, with the Federal Court of Australia upholding the patents for BRCA1 and BRCA2. In Cancer Voices Australia v. Myriad Genetics, NSD643/2010, Federal Court of Australia (Sydney), the first Australian case to deal with the issue of gene patents, the Court took a similarly liberal […]
It is my pleasure to return to my editorial duties (sans a 007 title pun) for the IPilogue to bring a first hand account of the fifth annual Harold G. Fox Canadian Intellectual Property Moot. After months of grueling preparation, I am proud to report that the moot, while a resounding success all-around, was particularly […]
The long battle in the American courts over Myriad Genetics’ patents of BRCA1 and BRCA2, the primary diagnostic genes for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer has been well-documented in the IPilogue (see coverage by Beatrice yesterday as well as previous posts here, here, and here). Now, Myriad is poised to defend their patents at the Supreme Court for a second time, with […]
The institution of a controversial new Cybercrime Prevention Act in the Philippines may leave plagiarists subject to criminal sanctions. The penalty for the plagiarism depends on the number of prior offences, but first-time infringers can expect up to one to three years in prison.
The extremely variable pricing of diamonds has made them a historically difficult and unstable commodity to trade. However, recent advents in diamond technology have been patented, and industry insiders such as Martin Rapaport have suggested that diamonds will become akin to gold from an economic standpoint.
In the latest portion of the legal fallout from the News of the World “phone hacking” scandal, the UK Supreme Court held that former footballer and private investigator, Glenn Mulcaire must reveal his contacts with the corporation.
A UK High Court ruling handed down in June 2012 will change the policies of the Metropolitan Police (the Met), particularly after they release suspects without laying charges. In a decision centering on privacy practices and the encroachment of the State, it was held that the private interests of two complainants were compromised under the […]
When Judy Mikovits had a ‘keystone’ scientific discovery widely discredited, resulting in the loss of her job, it is unlikely that she considered the state of the intellectual property laws governing the work that she performed for her former employer, the Whittemore Peterson Institute (WPI). However, in November 2011, following the initiation of civil action […]
When suspected Montreal “body parts” killer, Luka Magnotta, was detained in Berlin on June 4 following an international manhunt, only one small piece of a complex legal web was resolved. In addition to the ongoing murder investigation, digital issues involving web hosting of explicit content and concerns about trademark denigration have been thrust to the […]