Claim construction is a hot topic within the patent community at this time, with many practitioners seeking clarity on how to reconcile the Canadian Intellectual Property Office’s (CIPO’s) recent guidelines regarding claim construction, particularly in relation to medical diagnostics and computer implemented inventions, with the law as set down by the Canadian Courts. This Federal Court of Appeal case (ABB v. Hyundai, 2015 FCA 181) appears to affirm the Supreme Court’s position on claim construction, which notes that the Patent Act promotes adherence to the language of the claims read in an informed and purposive way (Free World Trust v. Électro Santé  (2000 SCC 66)).Read More →

The latest case (Samsung Electronics Co. v. Apple Inc.  580 U.S. (2016)) in the ongoing smartphone wars follows an earlier jury finding that Samsung smartphones infringed Apple’s registered designs. The registered designs, known as design patents in the US, cover a rectangular front face with rounded edges and a grid of colorful icons on a black screen. Apple was initially awarded damages of $399 million—Samsung’s entire profit from the sale of its infringing smartphones. The Federal Circuit affirmed the award. This award was based on the U.S. Patent Act which prohibits the manufacture or sale an “article of manufacture” to which a registered design, orRead More →

The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) was signed by Canada and the European Union on October 30, 2016. The Canadian government has indicated that Canada intends to implement the provisions of CETA by legislation in the near term. The purpose of CETA is to stimulate trade by aligning trade rules and reducing tariffs between the European Union and Canada. As a result, there will be changes to certain areas of intellectual property law relating to patents and trademarks. Pharmaceutical Patents – New pharmaceutical patent laws to be implemented under CETA include patent term extension relating to delays in the regulatory approval process for pharmaceuticalsRead More →