E-TIPS

On October 20, 2025, the Federal Court of Canada (the Court) issued its decision in Big Duck Games, LLC v X-Flow Ltd., 2025 FC 1704, allowing Big Duck Games, LLC’s (BDG’s) appeal of a Registrar of Trademarks’ (the Registrar’s) decision expunging its FLOW trademark (the Mark).

On October 27, 2025, The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) released a new Privacy Act Bulletin (the Bulletin), which outlines responsible practices for regulated federal government institutions to consider before, while, and after collecting personal information.

On October 20, 2025, the Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) issued its decision in NCS Multistage Inc. v Kobold Corporation, 2025 FCA 187, granting NCS Multistage Inc.’s (NCS’) appeal of a Federal Court of Canada (FC) decision that found NCS infringed certain claims of Kobold Corporation’s et al. (collectively, Kobold’s) Patent No. 3,027,571 (the 571 Patent) for equipment used for hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as fracking.

On October 15, 2025, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC) released updated De-Identification Guidelines for Structured Data (the “New Guidelines”), providing Ontario-based data custodians with an updated framework for safeguarding privacy while maintaining data utility. The New Guidelines take into account emerging privacy risks and technological advancements, replacing the original version published in 2016.

On September 23, 2025, the Trademarks Opposition Board (TMOB) issued its decision in Sobeys Capital Incorporated v CCP Productos, S.A.P.I. de C.V., 2025 TMOB 190, refusing CCP Productos, S.A.P.I. de C.V.’s (the Applicant) application for the mark VUALA in relation to bread, cookies, frozen confectionary, and pastries.

On October 10, 2025, the Federal Court of Canada (the Court) issued its decision in Yat Sun Food Products Ltd. v Griffith Foods International Inc., 2025 FC 1688, allowing an appeal of a decision of the Trademarks Opposition Board (TMOB) which dismissed Yat Sun Food Products Ltd.’s (Yat Sun) opposition to Griffith Foods International Inc.’s (Griffith) trademark CHEF’S OWN (the Mark), for various food sauces and seasoning.

On September 23, 2025, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and its provincial counterparts in Quebec, British Columbia, and Alberta (collectively, the Commissioners) released the findings of their joint investigation into TikTok, a popular video-sharing app. The investigation concluded that TikTok had inadequate measures in place to stop children from accessing the platform; and prevent the collection and use of their sensitive personal information for profiling and targeting purposes.

On September 11, 2025, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) released its amendments to Guideline E-23 on Model Risk Management (the New Guideline). The New Guideline sets out OSFI’s expectations concerning model risk management (MRM) by federally regulated financial institutions (FRFIs) which, after an eighteen-month transition period, will be effective as of May 1, 2027.

On September 16, 2025, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice Divisional Court (the Court) issued its decision in Hospital for Sick Children v. Ontario (Information and Privacy Commissioner), 2025 ONSC 5208, upholding decisions of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC) which found that encryption-only cyber incidents give rise to notification obligations under Ontario’s Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA) and Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017 (CYFSA).

On September 9, 2025, the Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) issued its decision in Centric Brands Holding LLC v Stikeman Elliott LLP, 2025 FCA 161, overturning a Federal Court (FC) decision to expunge Centric Brands Holding LLC’s (Centric) AVIREX trademark registration (the Mark).

On September 11, 2025, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (collectively, the “Commissioners”) signed an updated Memorandum of Understanding Between the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario and the Privacy Commissioner of Canada on Mutual Assistance and Information Sharing in the Administration and Enforcement of Laws Protecting Personal Information (the “Memorandum”) to facilitate information-sharing between their Offices on issues of common interest.

On August 14, 2025, the Superior Court of Justice issued its decision in Toronto Star Newspapers Limited v OpenAI Inc., 2025 ONSC 4685, granting OpenAI and its related entities’ (collectively, the Defendants) request for a Partial Sealing Order (the Order) in its motion to challenge the court’s jurisdiction over certain claims. In the underlying action, the Defendants are being sued by several Canadian newspaper and media outlets (collectively, the Plaintiffs) for copyright infringement, breach of their “Terms of Use”, and circumvention of technological protection measures.

On September 9, 2025, the decision in City of Port Moody v Aldo Difelice, 25374-CDRP, was released under the Canadian Internet Registration Authority Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (CDRP), where the CDRP panel (Panel) denied the City of Port Moody’s (the Complainant’s) request to transfer the domain name cityofthearts.ca (the Domain Name) due to it being registered in bad faith. Among other things, the Complainant relied on its rights in the official mark CITY OF THE ARTS as registered under Canada’s Trademarks Act.

On August 27, 2025, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC) released PHIPA Decision 298 (the Decision), in which the IPC issued an administrative monetary penalty (AMP) against a doctor and private clinic under the Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA). This is the first AMP issued by a privacy commissioner in Canada.

On August 27, 2025, the Federal Court of Canada (the Court) issued its decision in G6 Hospitality IP LLC v. Sandals Resorts International 2000 Inc., 2025 FC 1430, dismissing G6 Hospitality IP LLC’s (G6) appeal from a decision of the Trademark Opposition Board (TMOB), which rejected all grounds of its opposition against Sandals Resorts International 2000 Inc’s (Sandals’) trademark application (the Application) for THE WORLD’S ONLY SIX STAR LUXURY INCLUDED VACATION & Design (the Mark) in association with travel- and hotel-related goods and services.

On August 27, 2025, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) released its findings from the investigation of a complaint regarding Google’s search engine service. The OPC found that Google violated its obligations under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) by including certain media articles in the results of searches of the complainant’s name, which contained highly sensitive personal information and led to direct harm.

On August 11, 2025, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) published guidance for both the public and private sectors on protecting privacy in biometric initiatives. The OPC’s guidance addresses key considerations for organizations when planning and implementing initiatives involving biometric technology, such as appropriate purposes for collecting, using, and disclosing biometric data, the proportionality of potential privacy impacts, and consent requirements.

On July 18, 2025, the Federal Court issued an update to its “Case and Trial Management Guidelines for Complex Proceedings, Proceedings under the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations (PM(NOC) Regulations), and Appeals under subsection 56(1) of the Trademarks Act” (the Guidelines), effective immediately. The updates particularly relate to appeals of the Registrar of Trademarks under subsection 56(1) of the Trademarks Act (the Act).

On July 3, 2025, Quebec’s Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) released new draft guidelines (the Guidelines) on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the financial sector (available in French and English). The Guidelines set out expectations for the risk-based classification of artificial intelligence systems (AIS), the lifecycle of AISs, organizational governance, risk management, and the fair treatment of clients.

On June 30, 2025, the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB) released new non-binding guidelines (the Guidelines) which come into effect on January 1, 2026. The Guidelines are a further step in the long and highly controversial process following from attempts to change some of the criterion for price controls, in particular the list of comparator countries (as reported by the E-TIPS® newsletter here).