Canadian Lawyer

LEGAL REPORT/INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY for more studies, it is evident most are impatient with the lack of action. Graham Henderson, president of the Canadian Recording Industry Association, describes the issue as having been "studied to death" and says his presence before the com- mittee had a "disconcerting sense of déjà vu. Law in Winnipeg, thinks the government should stop writing reports on innovation " Adam Herstein, a partner of Pitblado off approach, leaving the commercial mar- kets to find their own way. "Governments don't innovate — inventors innovate, cre- ators innovate. I've seen a lot of good proj- ects die because of government." What and "get out of the way." He prefers a hands- already has a strong IP framework, and all that is required are statute- and system- specific improvements. The process bring- lawyers are saying is Canada ing the Copyright Act into the digital age, and the regulatory review into the Trade- marks Act are all seen as extremely valu- able reforms. "C-11 has gone a long way towards fixing things," says Mark Eisen, the president of the Intellectual Prop- erty Institute of Canada. "We are hopeful that countries that feel Canada is lagging behind in this area will be satisfied. Biggar in Ottawa, says most trademark reforms deal with procedures, one major substantive change is that trademarking of soundmarks is now allowed. "As in other parts of the world, the Canadian office will now register holograms, motion marks, and sounds." He also applauds the recent improvement of efficiency at the Trade- mark Office. "It used to take 18 months to two years, now it' Philip Lapin, a partner of Smart & " Client's IP at Risk? Our bite is even worse than our roar. We are accomplished trial lawyers with years of study in science and engineering and we have the courtroom successes to prove it. It's treacherous out there, so if your client's IP is threatened – talk to us. ent law and the industrial design regime need this same attention. Witnesses at the committee from the university sector indicated with the high cost of drafting and prosecuting patent applications, as well as the long time to issuance, few patents can be supported by a university without a financial partner. Many applications are abandoned before commercialization is realized. Other witnesses blamed the pat- enting process for consuming too much of a company's resources. There has also been talk of emerging problems such as patent "thickets," where patents are bundled in a way that creates obstacles and uncertain- ty, and the predatory behaviour of non- practising entities that purchase patents to monetize them through lawsuits. Eisen believes the problems in the pat- The consensus seems to be that pat- s six months or less." it all starts somewhere www.ridoutmaybee.com Editors of the Canadian Patent Reporter ent area are indicative of ones in the IP system as a whole. "It is very expensive to obtain protection and it is very expen- sive to litigate. I hope that the commit- tee process will spur a recognition that our statutes have fallen behind markets and technology. This is an opportunity to update them." Robert Storey, of Bereskin & Parr LLP in Montreal and a past president of the Fédération Internationale des Conseils en Propriété Intellectuelle Canada, says the biggest controversy that needs to be addressed is what may or may not be patentable. He refers to the recent Federal 40 JULY 2012 www. CANADIAN Lawyermag.com dout_CL_July_10.indd 1 6/17/10 3:10:05 PM

• Cover