E-TIPS

In July, 2007, the French Minister of Culture and Communication appointed an independent commission (the Olivennes Commission) led by Denis Olivennes to study ways of combating illegal downloading and the development of legal musical, audiovisual and cinematographic works. On November 23, 2007, the Olivennes Commission presented its report, entitled "Le développement et la protection des oeuvres culturelles sur les nouveaux réseaux".

The Education and Labor Committee of the US House of Representatives has approved draft legislation linking federal financial aid for higher education institutions with anti-piracy initiatives. The majority of the provisions in the College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007(Bill HR 4137) (Bill) are aimed at increasing access to higher education.

Chapter 17 of the Canadian Manual of Patent Office Practice (MOPOP), a guide on the procedures and practices relating to the prosecution of patent applications in Canada, has been amended. CIPO is seeking comments and has made the new chapter available for review until January 25, 2008.

The Business Software Alliance (BSA) has come under fire recently for its tactics in enforcing the software licenses of its members. The most recent criticism was triggered by an analysis by The Associated Press and stems from a BSA practice of targeting small businesses alleged to be using unlicensed software, and making threats of large fines in order to encourage settlement payments.

On November 28 2007, Jim Prentice, the federal Minister of Industry, released details of the proposed auction of advanced wireless services (AWS) spectrum to be held on May 27, 2008.

On November 15, 2007, the Federal Court released its decision on a motion brought by the Applicant in Purdue Pharma v Pharmascience Inc et al (2007 FC 1196) to have its Notice of Compliance (NOC) proceeding specially managed and, more importantly, to have the order in which evidence was filed by the parties reversed. The motion was brought based on the recent informal discussions that have taken place between members of the Court and members of the Bar regarding this issue.

Library and Archives Canada has released a draft consultation version of its Canadian Digital Information Strategy (CDIS). Prepared in a style familiar to business strategy consultants, it is very broad in its scope – examining the range of interests involved in the mushrooming digital society of the 21st Century. To quote the proposed “Vision” of the CDIS:

On October 24, 2007, the Law Lords released their decision in Yeda Research and Development Company Limited v Rhone Poulenc Rorer International Holdings Inc et al [2007] UKHL 43, redefining the requirements to establish claims to entitlement to a patent flowing from the facts surrounding the inventorship and contribution to the invention. In so doing, the five Law Lords unanimously overruled a 2005 judgment of the English Court of Appeal (Markem Corp v Zipher Ltd [2005] RPC 31).

On September 28, 2006, in response to several studies that found the price of prescription drugs to be high in Canada when compared with other countries, the Canadian Competition Bureau (Bureau) undertook an investigation of the generic drug sector.

An investigation by a leading UK newspaper has found that a significant number of public sector employees (at government departments, police forces, and municipal councils) have been fired or otherwise disciplined for misusing the Internet or e-mail while at work.

Less than a year after rejecting the proposition, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has decided to revisit a subscriber fee proposed by over-the-air television stations (OTAs) for the carriage of their signals by broadcaster distribution undertakings, such as cable and satellite.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown outlined a number of anti-terrorism measures during a speech delivered in Parliament on November 14, 2007. In the speech he highlighted the need to "challenge extremist propaganda" on the internet, calling on Internet companies:

The recent Speech from the Throne, outlining the Canadian Government’s legislative plans for the next Parliamentary Session, included a reference to copyright reform. This has sparked speculation that the federal government will seek amendments to Canada’s Copyright Act that resemble US copyright protections.

In January 2007, TJX Companies Inc (TJX) announced that its computer systems had been breached on several occasions dating back to 2005. In March 2007, TJX estimated that 45 million consumer credit and debit accounts were compromised. TJX wholly owns Winners Merchant International LP, which owns and operates Winners and HomeSense stores in Canada.

On October 23, 2007, the Federal Court released its decision in Altana Pharma Inc v Canada (Health) 2007 FC 1095, setting limits on the number of expert witnesses permitted in a case without prior approval from the Court.

The US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia has granted a preliminary injunction in Smithkline Beecham Corporation et al v Jon W Dudas et al (which was consolidated with Triantyfyllos Tafas v John Dudas), enjoining the USPTO from implementing its new patent application rules on claims and continuations (New Rules).

Several major commercial copyright owners have collaborated to create a set of principles aimed at tackling the problem of copyright infringement by user-uploaded and user-generated audio and video content (UGC services). The collaborators include Disney, CBS, NBC Universal, Fox Entertainment, Viacom and Microsoft. Notably absent from the group are Google, owner of YouTube, the biggest player in the UGC services area, and Yahoo! However, another large player, MySpace, did sign on.

The University of British Columbia (UBC) is challenging a finding of the BC Information & Privacy Commissioner under the BC Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) in a case involving spyware used to track an employee's computer use in the workplace.

On October 1, 2007, new Trade-marks Regulations came into effect in Canada, changing certain time limits in opposition proceedings. Under the new Regulations, applications which are advertised after October 1 will see the time period for filing the counterstatement increased from one to two months and for filing evidence from one to four months.

The USPTO has issued new detailed guidelines for assessing obviousness of inventions. The guidelines were adopted following the 2007 US Supreme Court decision in KSR International Co v Teleflex Inc (82 USPQ2d 1385) (see E-tips® Vol 5, No 22 May 9, 2007 "US Supreme Court Rules on Issue of Obviousness in Patent Law").