E-TIPS

On September 9, 2020, in Miller Thomson LLP v Hilton Worldwide Holding LLP, 2020 FCA 134, the Federal Court of Appeal of Canada (FCA) dismissed an appeal from the Federal Court (FC), finding that Hilton Worldwide Holding LLP (Hilton) had used its trademark WALDORF ASTORIA in association with “hotel services” in Canada, despite the fact that there was no “bricks and mortar” hotel under the name.

On September 10, 2020, in Bell Canada v. British Columbia Broadband Association, 2020 FCA 140, the Federal Court of Appeal of Canada (the Court) dismissed an appeal brought by large cable and telephone companies against the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s (CRTC)’s Telecom Order CRTC 2019-288 (TO 2019-288) in relation to the rates these companies charge smaller companies for use of their networks.

On September 14, 2020, Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google and YouTube, was subject to a representative action in the United Kingdom alleging that video-streaming service YouTube "routinely" tracks children's activity online without parental consent. The claimants, consisting of over five million British children and their parents, are seeking over 2.5 billion pounds (over CA$4.2B) in compensation total from the tech conglomerate.

On September 8, 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (the Court) released its decision in Corbello v Valli, No. 17-16337, affirming the district court’s judgment that the musical Jersey Boys (the Play) did not infringe the copyright in the unpublished nonfiction autobiography of The Four Seasons band member Tommy DeVito (the Work).

On September 8, 2020, an op-ed by the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Daniel Therrien (the Commissioner), titled “The value of data, the values of privacy” was published in the Hill Times. The op-ed focused on the recent acceleration of digitization and other technological trends, such as telemedicine, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On August 21, 2020 in Choueifaty v Canada (Attorney General), 2020 FC 837, the Federal Court of Canada (the Court) considered an appeal from a decision of the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) refusing a patent application as not being directed to patent-eligible subject matter.

On July 24, 2020, in Rallysport Direct LLC v 2424508 Ontario Ltd, 2020 FC 794, the Federal Court of Canada (the Court) awarded Rallysport Direct LLC (RSD) statutory and punitive damages against the defendants for copyright infringement.

On August 20, 2020, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (the Office) published an announcement detailing privacy guidance on the Internet of Things (IoT) to assist manufacturers in the development of smart devices that comply with federal privacy laws and respect privacy rights, and to provide advice for Canadians on how to protect their personal information while utilizing smart devices.

On August 31, 2020, in Canada (Health) v Glaxosmithkline Biologicals SA, 2020 FCA 135, the Federal Court of Appeal of Canada (the Court) dismissed a motion by the Minister of Health (the Minister) to stay the judgement of the Federal Court issued on April 7, 2020 (2020 FC 397) until the appeal is determined.

On August 27, 2020, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (Commissioner) shared with members of two parliamentary committees his response to an information request on the privacy implications of the federal government’s COVID-19 exposure notification application, COVID Alert.

On August 13, 2020, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) released the new Privacy Guide for Businesses (the Guide). The Guide provides organizations with a summary of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and explains how it applies. The goal of the Guide is to make it easier for businesses to protect their customers’ privacy and comply with PIPEDA.

On August 4, 2020, in TFI Foods Ltd v Every Green International Inc, 2020 FC 808, the Federal Court of Canada (the Court) issued an interlocutory injunction enjoining Every Green International Inc. (Every Green) from selling any products bearing the I-MEI trademark with labels identifying Every Green as the exclusive distributor, and requiring Every Green to recall all products with such labelling.

On August 15, 2020, the Government of Canada released a Statement advising that GCKey service and Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) accounts were the subject of “credential stuffing” attacks and that online CRA services would be temporarily disabled as a precaution.

On August 17, 2020, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (the Court) released its decision in Tiffany and Co et al v Costco Wholesale Corp, No. 17-2798, overturning the district court’s judgement for Tiffany and Co. (Tiffany).

On August 13, 2020, the province of Ontario (the Province) launched consultations with people and businesses from a wide range of sectors, including technology, finance and service, and the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario in an effort to improve the province’s privacy protection laws. The Province’s overarching goal of these consultations is to strengthen transparency and accountability concerning the collection, use and safeguarding of personal information online.

We are asked this all the time. It is a good question. We explain in this article how recent developments have impacted the progress of trademark applications in Canada.

In 2017, a former TD employee filed a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada regarding the outsourcing of TD’s fraud claim investigations to service providers operating in India. The Commissioner recently released its Report of Findings in respect of the complaint.

On July 28, 2020, the Federal Court of Appeal of Canada (FCA) in Salt Canada Inc v Baker, 2020 FCA 127, clarified the powers of the Federal Court to adjudicate title to a patent under section 52 of the Patent Act, including engaging in interpretation of contractual agreements and other commercial instruments between private parties, to ensure that the records of the Patent Office reflect the correct legal situation.

On July 29, 2020, the US Federal Circuit (the Court) released its decision in FanDuel, Inc v Interactive Games LLC, No. 19-1393 (Fed. Cir. 2020), affirming the decision of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) finding that FanDuel, Inc (FanDuel) failed to prove that claim 6 of Interactive Games LLC (IG)’s patent for a system for remote gambling via mobile phones was obvious.

On July 31, 2020, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (collectively, the commissioners) issued a news release supporting use of the COVID-19 tracing application developed by the Canadian federal government, COVID Alert, after completing their review of the application and undergoing in-depth discussions with the federal and Ontario governments.