Canadian Lawyer

July 2012

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Court of Appeal decision on Amazon. com Inc.' decision's highlights was the importance s "one-click" patent. "One of the of establishing with as definite lines as possible what constitutes patentable sub- ject matter. parts of the equation is to have skilled and experienced examiners at the Patent and Trademark Office who hold the same notion of what is patentable or what is registerable as a trademark as IP profes- sionals. He referred the committee to the Amazon case as an example of where the profession and the patent office were working at cross-purposes, saying, "It' extremely inefficient, resulting in many office actions and spinning wheels." The Industrial Design Act is also seen s as needing urgent attention. Storey notes it was drafted well over 100 years ago, and was badly done then. "CIPO examiners struggle with it and there is not a lot of jurisprudence to guide them. There is great scope for improving how it could be used. He cites the fashion industry as one market that could benefit from access to a low-cost form of protection. Lapin points to the problem that applications are reviewed on the basis of previously lodged designs, not on whether there are similar designs that are already out there. There are also proposals for court " ENHANCE YOUR EXPERTISE – AND YOUR VALUE – WITH OSGOODE'S PROFESSIONAL LLM IN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW Put the focus on what interests you most, with our Professional LLM in Intellectual Property Law. Taught by leading academics and top practitioners, this executive-style program offers you the unparalleled flexibility to study with a network of your peers while working full time. STUDY ONSITE AT OUR CONVENIENT DOWNTOWN TORONTO FACILITY, OR VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE FROM ANYWHERE AROUND THE WORLD – COURSES INCLUDE: > Introduction to Intellectual Property: Theoretical Frameworks reform. Eisen speaks of the need for incor- porating new technology and ensuring the court process is cost-effective. Specialist IP courts are becoming something of a global trend and there have been calls for the Federal Court to split off its own pat- ent court. The Federal Court is currently reviewing its rules and one of the issues on which it has requested submissions is whether it should adopt specialized proce- dures for different types of cases. Lapin believes most patent lawyers are in favour of a separate court. "It's such a complicated area and can be intimidating to judges who don't have a science back- ground. Patent lawyers are always wor- ried that they will get a judge who doesn't understand the invention." Storey is one patent lawyer who disagrees, saying there is already harmony between jurisdictions. ntitled-4 1 > Copyright Law > Patent Law > Trade-mark Law > Protection of Intangible Business Interests > Intellectual Property Transactions DIRECTORS Carys J. Craig Associate Professor Osgoode Hall Law School Martin P.J. Kratz Q.C. Partner, Trademark Agent Head of Intellectual Property Bennett Jones LLP Professional legal education the way it was meant to be. To learn more or to register for an Information Session, visit www.osgoodepd.ca today. A WORLD LEADER IN LAW SCHOOL LIFELONG LEARNING > Intellectual Property Challenges in the 21st Century > International Aspects of Intellectual Property > Intellectual Property Litigation > Remedies for Infringement of Intellectual Property Rights REFLECTING ON YOUR SPECIALTY REFLECTS WELL ON YOU. Osgoode's Professional LLM in Intellectual Property Law abandonment provisions as being badly drafted and in need of correction. Eisen thinks one of the most important " Storey also cites the deemed Katz is also not a fan of a specialized pat- ent court. "You can have a patent dispute where the most important thing is not actually the patent. You need jurisdiction to address all the other issues and look over how the patent problem intersects with other problems. Another advantage of the general court is that parties are not limited in the kind of legal claim they are allowed to bring. They can bring up any- thing that is relevant." For Katz, the message coming through from all sectors is a recognition that there is much more nuance to all these issues. "Our IP laws are the strongest they've ever been and strong if you look at international comparisons. If we don't perform well it' not because the laws aren't strong. They may be too strong. The committee should pay attention to that." s www.CANADIAN Lawyermag.com JULY 2012 41 12-06-08 12:32 PM

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