E-TIPS

On May 30, 2023, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (the OPC) announced that its Special Report on pandemic-related investigations (the Report) was tabled in Parliament. The Report details the OPC’s findings on several investigations and advisory initiatives that dealt with the federal government’s privacy practices during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On May 26, 2023, the Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) issued its decision in dTechs EPM Ltd. v British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority, 2023 FCA 115, dismissing an appeal by dTechs EPM Ltd (dTechs) regarding its action for patent infringement against BC Hydro and Power Authority (BC Hydro) and Awesense Wireless Inc. (Awesense), but allowing its appeal in part regarding the validity of its patent (the 087 Patent).

On May 11, 2023, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) announced that the Privacy Commissioner’s written submission on Bill C-27, the Digital Charter Implementation Act, 2022, was published by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry and Technology.

On May 18, 2023, the United States Supreme Court (the Court) issued its decision in Gonzalez v. Google LLC (Case No. 21-1333), where it held that Google LLC (Google), as an online service provider, did not “aid and abet” ISIS terrorist attacks under section 2333 of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) by allowing ISIS to use its platform. In deciding on the matter, the Court declined to address the Ninth Circuit’s application of section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

On May 10, 2023, the Federal Court of Canada (the Court) issued its decision in Boubala v Khwaja, 2023 FC 658, in which the Court dismissed an application relating to a dispute between previous business partners and the operation of African charcoal barbecue restaurants in Ottawa, Ontario.

On March 24, 2023, the Federal Court of Canada (the Court) issued its decision in Sheppard v C S Design Inc, 2023 FC 413, dismissing a motion for an interim injunction brought by Lola Sheppard, doing business as Lateral Office Mason White, (collectively, the Plaintiffs) in an action for copyright infringement relating to an art installation.

On April 27, 2023, the Federal Court of Appeal of Canada (FCA) issued its decision in Milano Pizza Ltd. v 6034799 Canada Inc., 2023 FCA 85, dismissing the Appellants’ application for an order overturning a decision from the Federal Court (FC) which dismissed the Appellants’ action for trademark infringement, passing off and depreciation of goodwill.

On April 27, 2023, Bill C-11, An Act to amend the Broadcasting Act and to make related and consequential amendments to other Acts, also known as the Online Streaming Act, received Royal Assent.

On April 4, 2023, Quebec’s health information privacy bill, An Act respecting health and social services information and amending various legislative provisions (Bill 3), received royal assent, and is set to establish a new legal framework for health and social services information in Quebec.

On March 30, 2023, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (the Court) in Apotex v Eli Lilly, 2023 ONSC 1968, dismissed Apotex Inc.’s (Apotex) claim for damages under Section 8 of the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations (the Regulations) that allegedly resulted from delays that Apotex encountered in bringing its generic atomoxetine product, Apo-Atomoxetine, to market.

On April 24, 2023, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) published its final revised Guideline B-10: Third-Party Risk Management (the Guideline), setting out associated risk management expectations for federally regulated financial institutions (FRFIs).

On April 13, 2023, the Federal Court of Canada (the Court) issued its decision in Canada (Privacy Commissioner) v Facebook, Inc., 2023 FC 533, in which it dismissed an application brought by the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (the OPC) alleging that Facebook Inc. (Facebook) breached the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) when sharing Facebook users’ personal information with third-party applications hosted on the Facebook Platform. The allegations followed after an investigation of a PIPEDA complaint by the OPC, as previously reported by the E-TIPS® Newsletter here.

On March 28, 2023, the Federal Court of Appeal of Canada (FCA), in IMS Incorporated v Toronto Regional Real Estate Board, 2023 FCA 70, dismissed an appeal, in part, relating to a decision of the Federal Court (FC) which set aside an order striking the statement of claim of the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB).

On March 23, 2023, the Federal Court of Appeal of Canada (FCA) issued its decision in Teva Canada Limited v. Janssen Inc., 2023 FCA 68, in which it dismissed Teva Canada Limited’s (Teva’s) appeal and allowed a cross-appeal by Janssen Inc. and Janssen Pharmaceutica N.V. (collectively, Janssen), finding that Teva would induce infringement of Canadian Patent No. 2,655,335 (the 335 Patent) by bringing its paliperidone palmitate product to market.

On March 31, 2023, Italy’s Data Protection Authority (the Regulator) issued a press release detailing its order for an immediate ban on the artificial intelligence (AI) platform, ChatGPT (the Order). The Order requires the US-based company behind ChatGPT, OpenAI, LLC, to temporarily cease processing Italian users’ data until it rectifies its privacy practices, which has resulted in ChatGPT being temporarily unavailable for users in Italy.

On March 28, 2023, the Federal Court of Canada (the Court) issued its decision in Tweak-D Inc v Attorney General of Canada, 2023 FC 427, dismissing Tweak-D Inc’s (the Applicant’s) appeal from a decision of the Registrar of Trademarks (the Registrar) refusing an application to register the trademark TRIBAL CHOCOLATE, in relation to hair care products, because it was confusing with a registered trademark for TRIBAL.

On March 13, 2023, the British Columbia Supreme Court (the Court) issued its decision in Burke v Red Barn at Mattick’s Ltd, 2023 BCSC 367, certifying a class action lawsuit against an assistant manager at the grocery store, Red Barn at Mattick’s Ltd (RBM,) for breach of privacy, and against RBM for negligence.

On March 28, 2023, the Federal Court of Canada (the Court) in Coca-Cola Company v Canada (Attorney General), 2023 FC 424, held that the Commissioner of Patents (the Commissioner) erred in law in its assessment of the inventive concept relating to a patent for plastic beverage and food containers and methods for making same, and ordered the matter to be referred back to the Commissioner for redetermination of certain claims.

On March 2, 2023, the Federal Court of Canada (the Court) published a Notice to the Parties and the Profession titled “Pilot Project: Chambers of the Court” (the Notice), announcing the creation of the following three specialized Chambers of the Court: 1. Intellectual Property and Competition Chambers; 2. Maritime and Admiralty Chambers; and 3. Class Actions Chambers.

On March 16, 2023, the Federal Court of Canada (the Federal Court) issued its decision in Wiseau Studio, LLC v Harper, 2023 FC 354, dismissing Wiseau Studio, LLC’s (the Plaintiff’s) appeal from a previous decision finding that its cause of action for copyright infringement was barred based on cause of action estoppel, as previously reported by the E-TIPS® Newsletter here.