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Pia-Lauren Reece Has Success with Patent Agent Examinations By Pia-Lauren Reece, PhD Jul 11, 2019 Pia-Lauren Reece has successfully passed the Canadian Patent Agent Examinations and will become a qualified Canadian Patent Agent.

Posted in: Artificial Intelligence

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Legal Tech and the Changing Legal Services Industry - Weekly Update - July 10 By Aaron Baer Jul 10, 2019 This weekly update on the field of Artificial Intelligence identifies a number of interesting articles about technology and the law.

Posted in: Blockchain

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Facebook’s New Digital Currency By Donald B. Johnston, Paige Backman and Kaija Sandberg Jul 09, 2019 On June 19, Facebook announced plans to launch a new digital currency, Libra, which will allow users to make online payments via digital wallets as soon as early next year.

Posted in: Artificial Intelligence

Insights TheSpotlight

Legal Tech and the Changing Legal Services Industry - Weekly Update - June 27 By Aaron Baer Jun 27, 2019 This weekly update on the field of Artificial Intelligence identifies a number of interesting articles about technology and the law.

Insights TheSpotlight

Smart Cities: An Opportunity for Engagement on Big Data Governance By Steve J. Tenai Jun 20, 2019 Quayside, a proposed “smart city” on Toronto’s waterfront,1 has garnered a lot of attention about big data initiatives relative to privacy and data governance. Smart city proposals underscore the importance of balancing the benefits of data analytics with privacy rights. A reactive, complaints-ba...

Posted in: Artificial Intelligence

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Legal Tech and the Changing Legal Services Industry - Weekly Update - June 19 By Aaron Baer Jun 19, 2019 This weekly update on the field of Artificial Intelligence identifies a number of interesting articles about technology and the law.

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Canada’s New Digital Charter and What this Means for PIPEDA By Aaron Baer and Sarah Newman Jun 13, 2019 On May 21, 2019, the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, announced the launch of Canada’s own Digital Charter.

Posted in: Artificial Intelligence

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Legal Tech and the Changing Legal Services Industry Weekly Update - June 6 By Aaron Baer Jun 06, 2019 This weekly update on the field of Artificial Intelligence identifies a number of interesting articles about technology and the law.

Posted in: Intellectual Property | Trademarks

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Changes to Canada’s Trademarks Act By Ken Clark, R. Grant Cansfield, L.E. Trent Horne and Timothy M. Lowman Jun 04, 2019 It has been a long time coming, but effective June 17, 2019, Canada’s new Trademarks Act takes force. Trademark applications filed after June 17 will be evaluated using Canada’s new rules.

Posted in: Data Security/Privacy | CASL | CRTC

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Directors and Officers May Be Found Personally Liable Under CASL By Aaron Baer and Sarah Newman May 28, 2019 In a recent compliance and enforcement decision, the CRTC found that nCrowd, Inc. sent CEMs that violated CASL. Importantly, the CRTC also found Brian Conley (“Conley”), the President and Chief Executive Officer of nCrowd, liable for the violations and imposed upon him an administrative monetary ...

Posted in: Intellectual Property

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Canadian Courts Take a Pro-patentee Stance in Respect of Granting Interim or Interlocutory Injunctions By Pia-Lauren Reece, PhD May 24, 2019 It is well accepted that patentees looking to obtain interlocutory or interim injunctions against alleged infringers have a tough road ahead of them since the granting of such relief by Canadian courts has been very uncommon. However, it is not impossible as both a provincial and a federal court ...

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Biometric Identification and Privacy Concerns: a Canadian Perspective By Paige Backman and Aaron Baer May 21, 2019 Advancements in technology have greatly expanded the types of biometric information that we are readily able to collect from individuals, as well as the ways in which such biometric information can be used. Facial structure, fingerprints, speech patterns, voice recognition, iris composition and r...

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OPC Proposed Change Equal to Legislative Change Without Legislative Process By Paige Backman, Donald B. Johnston and Aaron Baer May 08, 2019 On April 9, 2019, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) announced it was looking to change their position on trans-border flow of personal information. The proposed change in position will impact not only cross-border data transfers between controllers and processors, but also ot...

Posted in: Court Decision | arbitration

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Wake Up Call: The Supreme Court of Canada’s Review of the Intersection between Arbitration and Class Action Lawsuits in Telus Communications Inc. v. Wellman By Brandon Carter and David Stevens Apr 10, 2019 On April 4, 2019, the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in Telus Communications Inc. v. Wellman. The decision involved the consideration of a series of arbitration agreements, the Ontario Arbitration Act, 1991, the Ontario Consumer Protection Act, 2002, and a consumer and non-consumer...

Posted in: Intellectual Property | Copyright | Europe

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The Dawning of a New Dark Age for Europe By Ken Clark and Monica Carinci Apr 05, 2019 Darkness looms over the Internet in Europe as members of the European Parliament voted in favour of the proposed directive on copyright in the Digital Single Market. The new rules, which are aimed at providing more protection for rights-holders, have the potential to change internet culture as we...

Posted in: Intellectual Property

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The Competition Bureau Publishes Final Version of its Revised Intellectual Property Enforcement Guidelines By Ken Clark and Brandon Carter Mar 22, 2019 On March 13, 2019, the Competition Bureau published the final version of the revised Intellectual Property Enforcement Guidelines.

Posted in: Telecommunications | CRTC

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The Federal Government Signals a New Policy Approach for the CRTC in the Telecom Sector By Stephen Zolf Mar 07, 2019 On February 26, 2019, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development tabled a Proposed Order Issuing a Direction to the CRTC on "Implementing the Canadian Telecommunications Policy Objectives to Promote Competition, Affordability, Consumer Interests and Innovation." If implemented s...

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“Privacy is Not an All-or-Nothing Concept”: The Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in R. v. Jarvis By Donald B. Johnston and Brandon Carter Feb 20, 2019 On February 14, 2019, the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in R. v. Jarvis, a case that centered on determining when and where a person will be criminally liable for observing or recording others, without their knowledge, for sexual gratification.

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Data Breaches – What Will Cost You and What Will Save You Money By Paige Backman Feb 11, 2019 For the last number of years, Ponemon Institute has published reports on data breaches. The latest report, “2018 Cost of a Data Breach Study: Global Overview”, is worth the read. It explores not just the cost in dollars and organization expended (direct and indirect costs), but also which element...

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GDPR - Impact on Canadian Business Obligations, Liability and Contract Terms By Paige Backman Feb 06, 2019 The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into effect nearly nine months ago on May 25, 2018. The GDPR clearly applies to those located in the EU, but its application is worldwide in that it expressly imposes obligations, liability and contractual terms on businesses ope...

Posted in: Copyright | Media | Sports | Intellectual Property

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The Perils of Comparative Advertising – A lesson from Super Bowl 53 By Stephen Zolf, Brandon Carter and Matthew Helfand Feb 05, 2019 This year’s Super Bowl featured several Bud Light commercials, which irreverently poked fun at two of its competitors – Miller Lite and Coors Light. As the commercials allege in no uncertain terms, Miller and Coors brew with corn syrup, while Bud Light does not. What was striking about these comm...

Posted in: Data Security/Privacy

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Come On, They’re Children! By Paige Backman Feb 04, 2019 A few days ago, a friend forwarded on the Slashdot story about Facebook paying individuals, ages 13-35, $20/month to essentially spy on them. The story is all over the Internet, apparently.

Posted in: Intellectual Property

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“BIG MAC” Attack! By Brandon Carter and Ken Clark Jan 31, 2019 McDonald’s no longer owns the “BIG MAC” trademark in Europe in the wake of the European Union Intellectual Property Office’s decision on a cancellation proceeding filed by Irish fast-food restaurant chain, Supermac.

Posted in: Court Decision | Media | Privacy

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The Press Freedom Paradox in R. v. Vice Media: the Supreme Court of Canada’s Review of Press Freedoms Versus the Investigative Powers of Police By Paige Backman and Brandon Carter Dec 13, 2018 On November 30, 2018, the Supreme Court of Canada rendered its decision in R. v. Vice Media Canada Inc., a case many describe as pitting press freedoms against the investigative powers of police.

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