OWGM Newsletter – IP To Date

Our lawyers regularly write and speak about critical issues providing our clients with the latest news.   Stay up to date on current events in Intellectual Property in Canada and around the world.

We welcome your comments on current issues and suggestions for future topics by email to one of our editors, George Kondor (gkondor@patentable.com) or Richard Johnson (rjohnson@patentable.com).

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Recent Developments in IP

Are Business Methods Patentable in Canada?
Although maybe less known than its related patents and applications around the world, this Canadian counterpart to Amazon.com’s “One-Click Patent” (US Patent No. 5,960,411) has been reshaping the boundaries of what sort of subject matter is eligible for patent protection in Canada. View the full article

Trademark Care, Control and Licensing
A trademark is used by a person to distinguish wares or services from those of others.  A trademark must be distinctive and any goodwill that results from the use of a trademark is to the exclusive benefit of the sole owner.  The “single source” theory is the foundation of trademark law in Canada. View the full article

Mi Casa es Zoocasa? Copyright in Real Estate Websites
In Century 21 Canada Limited Partnership v. Rogers Communications Inc., 2011 BCSC 1196 (CanLII) the BC Supreme Court had the opportunity to consider the validity of “browse wrap” contracts and the availability of the fair dealing exceptions to copyright infringement in the context of a website (operated by Zoocasa) which reproduced and indexed real estate listing information from another website (operated by Century 21). View the full article

Co-Ownership of Patents
Licensing is not the only way to share one’s patent rights. As with other forms of property, patents may be jointly owned by multiple parties. This can arise in a number of typical circumstances including when an invention has multiple inventors, or where parties are working together to develop technologies and may be co-assignees of resultant patents. View the full article

See our News page for the latest articles, comments, and links to current events in IP.  

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Firm News & Events

Common Intellectual Property Pitfalls
Catherine Mutala shall be presenting this topic as part of a Continuing Legal Education program entitled, “Business Basics 2012″. CLE – www.cle.bc.ca. View the full article

Intellectual Property for Non-IP Lawyers
Catherine Mutala and George Kondor shall be co-presenting this topic as part of a Canadian Bar Association of BC Continuing Professional Development program. CBABC – www.cba.org/bc/. View the full article

Canada’s Trademarks Law Firm of the Year
Oyen Wiggs Green & Mutala LLP has been recognized as Canada’s Trademarks Law Firm of the Year by ACQ Magazine, a publication that has served the financial sector since 2003. Its readers, many of them fellow professionals, nominate and award law firms all over the world for the exceptional quality of their work over the last twelve months. View the full article


Disclaimer
This is not legal advice.  Please note that, for your own protection, you should not send us information about legal matters in which you are or may become involved until you have made direct contact – by phone or in person — with one of our lawyers.