By Roy Nieuwenburg
In our September 29, 2014 Construction Law Bulletin, we alerted readers to the projected implications of the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement. [“MASH Sector Needs to Brace for Possible New Era in Procurement – Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA)”]. The final CETA text was published February 29, 2016. Here is an overview and summary:
In a recent decision of the Federal Court of Appeal (“FCA”), the FCA took the rare opportunity to consider an appeal from a section 45 expungement proceeding. In One Group LLC v Gouverneur Inc, the FCA reviewed the Registrar’s decision not to expunge One Group LLC’s (“One Group”) trade-mark registration for STK (the “Mark”) on the basis of non-use, as well as the subsequent Federal Court (“FC”) decision to overturn the Registrar’s ruling.
One Group operates high end restaurants using the Mark outside of Canada. In preparation for a new restaurant in Toronto, One Group registered the Mark in Canada. However, due to failed discussions with hotels and developers, a Toronto restaurant never materialized.
Parties considering whether to resolve disputes through arbitration or litigation should first look to their agreements to determine the appropriate course. Two recent out-of-province decisions demonstrate the issues that can arise when parties proceed with dispute resolution outside of the terms of their contracts.
By Ethan Minsky
This is the third and last instalment of a three part article. In the first part, we discussed the basic concepts and guiding principles applied by Canadian securities regulators when they are asked to cease trade an effort to defend against a take-over bid. In the second part, we discussed the British Columbia Securities Commission’s decision in Re Red Eagle, 2015 BCSECCOM 401, in which these guiding principles were applied. In this third part, we will discuss the Alberta Securities Commission’s decision in in Re Suncor Energy Inc. 2015 ABASC 984.
By Bernard Pinsky
Effective June 30, 2016, form 45-106F1 “Report of Exempt Distribution”, required for most securities issuances other than prospectus offerings, will require issuers to disclose more information about the offering and the issuer. This was first reported in Clark Wilson’s Securities Law Update in August 2015.
The Canadian Securities Administrators have added more disclosure to their standard form, bringing it effectively to what has been required in British Columbia alone for the past several years. Once implemented, BC will no longer require an additional form to be filed.
By Andrew Dixon
When choosing a trade or business name, it may seem like a good idea to incorporate the location of your business into the name. There are benefits: it is helpful for marketing, it gives your target audience an idea of where your business is and who your market is, it can help establish your business in a neighborhood, and it can help you build a brand based on community and locality.
By Michael Roman
Canada’s Federal Court of Appeal recently considered the patenting of inventions by public servants in the case Louis Brown et al. v. Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada et al. The Court considered two questions:
By Monica Sharma and Kelsey Marshall, Articled Student
Canada’s anti-spam law (“CASL”) outlines violations, enforcement mechanisms, and penalties aimed at protecting online consumers against spam, electronic threats, and misuse of digital technology. CASL’s anti-spam rules came into effect on July 1, 2014. CASL’s software update and installation rules came into effect on January 15, 2015. The latter rules are often referred to as malware/spyware computer program rules. Under these rules, CASL applies when a person, in the course of a commercial activity, installs or causes to be installed a computer program on any other person’s computer system, unless the person has obtained the express consent of the owner or an authorized user of the computer system.
Canada’s Federal Court of Appeal (the “Court of Appeal”) has recently had the opportunity to clarify the test for registrability of geographically descriptive trademarks in two separate decisions. The most recent of these is the decision in MC Imports Inc. v. AFOD Ltd., 2016 FCA 60. In the proceedings underlying the appeal, MC Imports Inc. (“MC Imports”) brought an action for infringement against AFOD Ltd. (“AFOD”) on the basis that AFOD’s use of the words “Lingayen Style”, which appeared on AFOD’s imported Philippines food products in a relatively small font, infringed MC Imports’ registered trade-mark LINGAYEN. MC Imports’ registration issued in 2003 and covered Filipino food products, including fish sauce and fish paste and MC Imports had been importing and selling such products in Canada since 1975.
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