LEGAL REPORT: INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY Forward on in the IP sector
Canadian courts and government look to become more progressive and streamline IP-related litigation this year.
BY DARY L- LYNN CARLSON
erty matters in both Canada and the United States. Here at home, lawyers are fueled with a degree of optimism that the country is finally moving for- ward to better accommodate IP-related liti- gation; even possibly improving trademark and copyright enforcement. At the Federal Court, measures are being imple-
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mented that will move such cases faster along. It's actually been a low-key initiative, rather quietly spearheaded by Justice Roger T. Hughes, who over the latter part of last year sought feedback from organizations on new case management rules and their affect on intellectual property cases. "The court has shown for some time now a real interest in giving better access to justice in intellectual property cases," acknowledges Ron Dimock, a partner at Dimock Strat- ton LLP in Toronto. "This has signified to the IP bar, and to a wider and international audience, that intellectual property is a sig- nificant facet in the Federal Court. They want it to be evident to the international business world that Canada can handle complex litigation."
here are uncertainties over what the new year will have in store for intellectual prop-
48 JANU AR Y 2008 www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com
PATRICK DEA
