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Monsanto v Schmeiser Does Not Indicate SCC Departure From Existing Precedents: But-For Causation Still Required for Contributory Infringement

In Nycomed Canada Inc. v Teva Canada Limited 2012 FCA 195 (Noël, JA), the Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) considered whether the Federal Court erred in rejecting Nycomed’s counterclaim for induced infringement. The FCA upheld the lower court’s decision affirming that but-for causation must be established in order to successfully claim contributory infringement.

IP Osgoode and Osgoode PD host Joint Teleseminar on Copyright Pentalogy

On September 13, 2012, IP Osgoode will be hosting a joint teleseminar with Osgoode Professional Development. The topic of the seminar will be the recent developments in copyright law as a result of Supreme Court rulings on 5 major copyright cases (known as the Copyright Pentalogy). For IP Osgoode coverage of the Copyright Pentalogy, see […]

Software Becomes that Much Harder to Patent in the United States

In the recent decision of Bancorp Services v Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada (U.S.), the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has attempted to reconcile the eligibility of software and business process patents with previous decisions from the United States Supreme Court. The holding also makes qualifying patent eligibility in business […]

For (Re)Sale: The ECJ Rules on the Exhaustion of Software Distribution Rights

Early in July, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) came to a decision with regards to the distribution rights retained by a software company. The ruling, resulting from litigation between UsedSoft GmbH and Oracle International Corp., which can be found here, will prove an important one in today’s increasingly digital society.

The Tale of the Uni-Brower: Trade-marking Sports Catchphrases

Anthony Davis, formerly NCAA college basketball's breakout star, and presently the New Orleans Hornets' #1 draft pick, might soon be following in the footsteps of fellow NBA player Jeremy Lin, although those steps won't necessarily be on the court as his team's top-scorer.

Re-examination vs. Invalidity Proceedings: A Question of Judicial Supremacy

Re-examination and invalidity proceedings each play an important role in the patent system, offering different avenues that narrow or invalidate existing patent claims. However, a lack of clarity on how the two provisions co-exist has led to litigation which this editor believes could be avoided through legislative amendments to the American patent regime. Similar issues […]

Agreement, of a Sort, Reached on The Unified Patent Court

As has already been widely reported, on Friday 29 June 2012 the European Council agreed on what has been presented as the final step on the long road to the Unitary EU Patent and a Unified European Patent Court.

Is it Too Early for a 5-D Apple?

Apple is closing the gap to making full virtual reality a possibility.  On July 24th 2012, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted the company a patent for its groundbreaking 5 dimensional technology. The Invention will incorporate virtual reality gloves, next generation sensors and touch screens to better immerse a user.