E-TIPS

Google Earth, a 3D graphics application which provides images of the earth derived from aerial and satellite photography, has again stirred controversy. Satellite photos of Israeli Defence Forces bases are now available simply through a few clicks on Google Earth. Arguably, this information could be used by terrorist groups and this possibility has Israeli security officials seriously concerned.

As we approached the half-way point in 2006, the Federal and Ontario Privacy Commissioners were in the news.

Appropriation Art: A Coalition of Arts Professionals (Coalition) advocates what it terms a balanced approach to copyright reform, through an open letter to Minister Bev Oda, Minister of Canadian Heritage, and Minister Maxime Bernier, Minister of Industry. The Coalition is composed of over 600 artists, curators, directors, educators, writers, associations and organizations from the art sector.

The Conservative Government has announced its intention to revive wiretap legislation which died with the fall of the previous Liberal Government. Likely to be tabled later this year, the Bill will require telecommunications companies to add surveillance hardware and software to their networks.

On June 9, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, by a 2-1 majority, affirmed a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) directive that VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) calls can be wiretapped.

On June 7, 2006, an English High Court granted an injunction to the German sportswear company, adidas-Salomon AG (adidas), allowing players to sport the company's distinctive three stripe design on their clothing during the upcoming Wimbledon Championships and the US Open.

US anti-drug-counterfeiting regulations drafted in 1999, which require wholesalers to track prescription drugs from source to pharmacist, will soon come into force.

For the first time, the New York Court of Appeals has recognized that electronic entry into the state can be sufficient to attract the jurisdiction of New York courts under that jurisdiction's long-arm statute. In Deutsche Bank Securities Inc v Montana Board of Investments, decided June 6, 2006, a $15 million bond purchase agreement was arranged between the defendant seller in Montana with the plaintiff buyer in New York entirely through the use of instant messaging and e-mail. The court unanimously held that a single business transaction is sufficient to attract jurisdiction where the defendant avails itself of the benefits of conducting business in New York State and should reasonably expect to defend its actions there.

The Globalization of the Regulatory Affairs Profession (PDF Format) By Gordon S. Jepson

Last week, the Supreme Court of Canada released its decisions in two trade-mark cases. In both, the plaintiffs asserted that their marks were "famous" and thus entitled to a special, broader, scope of protection.

Late last month, Qualcomm Inc (Qualcomm) launched an additional patent infringement action against its competitor Nokia, this time in the United Kingdom. In November 2005, Qualcomm's subsidiary, SnapTrack, commenced patent infringement litigation in the United States alleging Nokia infringed 11 of Qualcomm's and one of Snaptrack's US patents relating to the manufacture or sale of mobile devices supporting the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) cellular standard and seeking both an injunction and monetary damages from Nokia.

In response to the upcoming exceptional sale of radio spectrum this summer by the US Government called "Auction 66", M2Z Networks Inc (M2Z) has made an interesting proposal to the US Federal Communications Commission.

In Disney Enterprises Inc et al v Click Enterprises Inc and Evans, [2006] OJ No 1308, the Ontario Superior Court was asked to enforce a judgment issued in New York against an Ontario resident corporation, Click Enterprises Inc (Click), for online copyright infringement. Click had operated an Ontario-based web site that provided tools and support for users interesting in downloading movies. An action was launched in the District Court for the Southern District of New York by several movie studios and a default judgment obtained when Click did not defend. The plaintiffs then brought then brought an action before the Ontario Superior Court to enforce the New York State judgment.

ISPs may have to enlarge their data warehouses if the US Attorney General has his way. During a recent closed door meeting, US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and FBI Director Robert Mueller urged telecommunications representatives to store subscriber data information in their data banks and retain the data for two years, in order to assist law enforcement relating to both child pornography and terrorism.

The European Commission (EC) has stated that the forthcoming Community patent regulation will exclude computer programs from patentability. While the precise meaning of this statement is not yet clear, it represents a significant change in tone as the EC had said last year, following rejection of the Software Patent Directive, that the European Patent Office (EPO) would continue to grant software patents involving a "technical contribution". The regulation would be applied by and bind the EPO, which is not a Community body, and allow patents to be challenged on the basis of the European Patent Convention of 1973 (EPC) in the European Court of Justice.

In a much anticipated decision, the US Supreme Court has held that injunctions should not necessarily issue as a matter of course in patent cases.

In a period of unusual activity in hearing intellectual property cases, the Supreme Court of Canada has granted leave to appeal in a copyright case which raises a range of interesting issues. Primarily, the case involves parallel imports or "gray goods" and, in particular, raises the extent to which authorized distributors of imported products can use the copyright in packaging materials to block genuine but unauthorized products from entering Canada for sale.

Rodgers (R) was convicted of a sexual offence. Before R's prison term was completed, the Crown obtained a warrant from a judge on an ex parte application to permit the prison authorities to take DNA samples from R. R applied to another judge, unsuccessfully, for a declaration that the issue of the warrant was unconstitutional, in part because the authorizing warrant was obtained without notice to R. R appealed to the Ontario Court of Appeal, which held that R ought to have been given notice of the hearing to obtain the warrant. The Crown appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada.

The most recent clash of the two iconic apples - Apple Corps Limited, of Beatles' fame (Apple Corps) and Apple Computer Inc - over the field of use of the Apple trade-mark was recently resolved in London when the High Court dismissed the action brought by Apple Corps.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) received a request under the Access to Information Act (Act) for access to certain records pertaining to the respondent, H J Heinz Co of Canada Ltd (H J Heinz). CFIA concluded that some of the records might contain confidential business or scientific information and asked H J Heinz to make representations as to why the information should not be disclosed. After reviewing the representations, CFIA concluded that the records should be disclosed, subject to certain redactions.