The Federal Court has ruled that business methods are patentable subject matter and allowed an appeal by Amazon.com, Inc (Amazon.com) of the 2009 rejection by the Commissioner of Patents (Commissioner) of its patent application for a “one-click” ordering method. Amazon.com’s “one-click” ordering method allows customers to order items from its web site using a single click by recalling address and payment information stored by the customer’s browser as a cookie. | MORE 
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner (Office) has determined that Veterans Affairs Canada (Department) has violated Canada’s Privacy Act through the inappropriate handling of a veteran’s personal and medical records. | MORE
Two recent appeals in the Canadian Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) involving Monsanto’s “Roundup Ready” soybeans are a reminder that determining the quantum of damages can be a critical feature of litigation, just as significant as a finding of liability. The appeals and cross-appeals in Rivett v Monsanto Company and Janssens v Monsanto Canada Inc are reported together at 2010 FCA 207. | MORE
On September 28, 2010, Justice Lucie Fournier of the Quebec Superior Court enforced a billion dollar award that Facebook Inc obtained against a Canadian spammer, Adam Guerbuez. On November 21, 2008, the US Northern District Court of California awarded Facebook approximately US $843 million against Guerbuez after he sent almost four million spam messages through Facebook. | MORE
Vic Toews, Canada’s Minister of Public Safety, has announced that Canada will implement measures to increase cyber security on its digital infrastructure. Because Canadians, including the Government, rely so heavily on the Internet for critical functions such as banking and transferring military instructions, the increased number of attacks on cyber space has prompted the Minister to react with a plan to combat cyber threats. | MORE
A computer worm, known as the Stuxnet worm, has infected computers worldwide. The worm has the ability to interfere and destroy critical industry functions, although the ultimate target of the worm is unknown and also the number of computers and industrial centres infected. | MORE
The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in the US have released a report dated September 30, 2010 (Report) identifying the root causes of the “flash crash” that overtook North American stock markets on May 6, 2010. | MORE