Below is our Month in Review for June, highlighting posts on our snIP/ITs blog. You can follow the links to any of these specific posts, or you can visit the blog at www.canadiantechlawblog.com.

“Not Necessarily Regulation, but Regulation as Necessary”: Canadian Senate Committee Weighs in on Regulation of Digital Currency
By Ana Badour and Claire Gowdy on June 26th, 2015

In March of 2014, the Minister of Finance tasked the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce to examine the use of digital currencies. The Committee pursued an extensive fact-finding mission in Canada and in the United States, speaking with, amongst others, representatives from regulatory bodies, financial institutions, digital currency interest groups, law enforcement, and universities. Continue Reading

BC Privacy Act Does Not Oust Facebook’s Forum Selection Clause: BC Court of Appeal
By Keith Rose on June 24th, 2015

How do operators of global services deal with the panoply of legal systems around the world? One common strategy relies on choice of law and forum selection clauses in Terms of Use agreements. These clauses purport to determine in advance what law will apply to disputes and where they will be heard. Continue Reading

Digital Privacy Act is Now Law
By Daniel G.C. Glover, Charles S. Morgan, Barry B. Sookman and Kirsten Thompson on June 19th, 2015 

The Digital Privacy Act (Bill S-4) passed into law yesterday, introducing (among other things) significant fines and mandatory breach notification (not yet in force) into the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). Continue Reading

Bill C-65: Canada Moves to Implement the Marrakesh Treaty
By Keith Rose on June 15th, 2015

On June 8, 2015, the Minister of Industry introduced Bill C-65, with the short title Support for Canadians with Print Disabilities Act. This Bill amends provisions of the Copyright Act dealing with exceptions intended to facilitate access to alternate format works by the visually impaired and other persons with so-called “print disabilities”. Continue Reading

Hospital Privacy Breach Results in OSC Laying Charges
By Kirsten Thompson on June 9th, 2015

The Ontario Securities Commission (“OSC”) has announced a series of criminal and quasi-criminal charges following an investigation related to the misuse of confidential patient information from the Rouge Valley Health System and the Scarborough Hospital. Continue Reading

Federal Court of Appeal Clarifies Misunderstanding: Factual Basis and Line of Reasoning Need not be Disclosed in the Patent
By Sanjaya Mendis, Steve Mason, Steven Tanner and Andrew Reddon on June 8th, 2015

In a decision released on June 3, 2015 (2015 FCA 137), a unanimous Federal Court of Appeal (“FCA”) dismissed Apotex’s appeal of Justice O’Reilly’s order prohibiting the Minister of Health from issuing a NOC to Apotex to market its generic version of LUMIGAN RC^® until the expiry of Canadian Patent No. 2,585,691 (the “‘691 Patent”). Continue Reading

Google’s Patent Purchase Program: In the public interest or a monopoly on patent rights?
By Fiona Legere and Marissa Caldwell on June 1st, 2015

On April 27th, 2015 Google announced the launch of its Patent Purchase Promotion. The “experiment,” as Google calls it, allows patent owners, or those otherwise authorized to sell a patent, to set a price for their patent and offer it for sale to Google. Continue Reading