E-TIPS

On March 13, 2026, the Ontario government announced that it will be updating its Cyber Security, Privacy and Access to Information framework to strengthen data protection for Ontarians, including stronger cyber security rules for public services and updated Freedom of Information (FOI) timelines and processes.

On March 9, 2026, the Federal Court (the Court) issued its decision in Hellboy Productions, Inc. v Doe #1, 2026 FC 317, granting Hellboy Productions, Inc.’s (the Plaintiff) motion to obtain a Norwich order compelling Cogeco Connexion Inc. (Cogeco) to disclose the names and addresses associated with certain IP addresses.

On March 12, 2026 the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) tabled a Special Report in Parliament concerning the ArriveCAN app (the Report). The Report follows an OPC investigation into the Canadian Border Services Agency’s (CBSA) contracting practices during the development of the app.

On February 18, 2026, the Court of Appeal for British Colombia (BCCA) issued its decision in Clearview AI Inc. v. British Columbia (Information and Privacy Commissioner), 2026 BCCA 67, dismissing Clearview AI Inc.’s (Clearview’s) appeal from a judicial review of the British Columbia Information and Privacy Commissioner’s (the Commissioner’s) finding that it contravened British Columbia’s Protection of Information and Privacy Act (PIPA).

On February 25, 2026, the Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) issued its decision in Promotion in Motion, Inc. v Hershey Chocolate & Confectionery LLC, 2026 FCA 40, dismissing an appeal of a Federal Court (FC) decision, which upheld the Registrar of Trademarks’ refusal to register Promotion in Motion, Inc’s (PIM’s) SWISSKISS trademarks for the goods “Chocolate of Swiss origin”.

On February 10, 2026, the US District Court for the Southern District of New York (the Court) in United States v. Heppner, granted the US government’s motion for a ruling that documents generated by the defendant, Bradley Heppner, through an artificial intelligence tool were not protected by either attorney-client privilege or the work product doctrine. The Court followed up with a written memorandum on February 17, 2026 to further explain its decision.

On February 11, 2026, the Quebec Court of Appeal (the Court) in A.B. c. Google, 2026 QCCA 157, considered, for the first time, the issue of the liability of an intermediary whose search engine indexes a link leading to undisputedly false and defamatory information, where the intermediary did not author the post or reproduce its contents. Among other findings, the Court ordered Google to pay $1,500,000 in punitive damages for doing so.

On February 11, 2026, the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (the Court) released its decision in Emotional Perception AI Ltd v Comptroller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks, [2026] UKSC 3. The judgement marks a significant shift in UK patent law, overturning the longstanding test for patentability established in Aerotel Ltd v Telco Holdings Ltd, [2007] RPC 7 (Aerotel), and considering the patentability of artificial neural networks (ANNs).

On January 28, 2026, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC) released new guidance, titled AI Scribes: Key Considerations for the Health Sector (the Guidance) to support the responsible adoption of AI scribes in the health sector.

On January 21, 2026, the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC) and the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) released a set of joint Principles to guide Ontario public sector organizations in the responsible adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) systems (the Guidance).

On January 26, 2026, the Federal Court (the Court) in 996660 Ontario Ltd. v. Falesca Importing Ltd., 2026 FC 114, dismissed 996660 Ontario Ltd.’s (the Applicant’s) appeal of a Trademark Opposition Board’s (TMOB’s) decision that rejected its opposition to Falesca Importing Ltd.’s (the Respondent’s) registration of the mark FALESCA MOLISANA.

On January 15, 2026, the Competition Bureau (the Bureau) published a report examining how data portability can empower consumers, enhance competition and drive innovation in Canada. The report analyzes the potential economic and consumer benefits of data portability, using the insurance sector as a case study, and identifies key factors necessary for the creation of a successful data portability framework.

On January 14, 2026, the Federal Court (the Court) issued its decision in Products Unlimited, Inc. v Five Seasons Comfort Limited, 2026 FC 48, overturning the Trademark Opposition Board’s decision (the Board’s Decision) which refused Products Unlimited, Inc.’s (the Applicant) application for FILTER DESIGN on the ground that the diamond-shaped aperture design is dictated primarily by a utilitarian function and therefore non-registrable. The Applicant sought leave to file additional evidence and appealed the Board’s Decision.

On January 9, 2026, the Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) issued its decision in Comité interprofessionnel du vin de champagne v Coors Brewing Company, 2026 FCA 2, dismissing an appeal of a Federal Court (FC) decision finding that the Registrar of Trademarks (the Registrar), committed no error in concluding that special circumstances excusing non-use existed for recently acquired trademarks.

On January 13, 2026, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (the OPC) released its findings of its investigation into Staples Canada ULC’s (Staples) privacy practices related to their “Openbox” program which allows customers to return laptops to be refurbished and resold by Staples. The OPC found that Staples failed to fully remove customers’ personal information from the returned laptops before resale.

Thank you for your readership over the last year and welcome to what we hope will be an exciting 2026! In this year’s first issue of the E-TIPS® Newsletter, we will recap our most noteworthy reports from 2025, covering developments in intellectual property and information technology law under the following categories: (1) Legislative and Policy Developments, (2) Trademarks, (3) Patents, (4) Copyright, (5) Privacy and Cybersecurity, and (6) Artificial Intelligence.

On November 18, 2025, Ontario and Alberta’s information and privacy commissioners (collectively, the Commissioners) released their findings following investigations into a privacy breach involving the education technology provider, PowerSchool Canada ULC (PowerSchool), which services educational bodies (e.g., school boards) in both provinces. While the Commissioners conducted separate investigations, they had many findings in common, including that certain educational bodies lacked adequate privacy and security arrangements with PowerSchool as required under applicable privacy law.

On November 12, 2025, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) published a practice notice titled “Disclaimer of 11-point maple leaf” (the Notice), which indicated a change with respect to trademark applications that incorporate the 11-point maple leaf that forms a part of the National Flag of Canada.

On November 12, 2025, the Federal Court (the Court) issued its decision in Dusome v Canada (Attorney General), 2025 FC 1809, allowing Barry Dusome and Wyatt Dusome’s (collectively, the Appellants’) judicial review of a decision of the Commissioner of Patents (the Commissioner) that refused Canadian Patent Application Number 2,701,028 for a method of playing a wagering poker game either with conventional physical cards or a computerized system (the 028 Application).

On October 31, 2025, the Federal Court (the Court) issued its decision in Hellboy Productions, Inc. v DOE #1, 2025 FC 1766, denying Hellboy Productions, Inc.’s (the Plaintiff) motions to obtain Norwich orders against three internet service providers: Telus Communications Inc. (Telus), Cogeco Connexion Inc. (Cogeco), and Bell Canada (Bell) (collectively, the ISPs).