REVENGE PORN – American Privacy Torts Continue to Migrate North

By Daniel Nashid on Tuesday, March 8th, 2016 in Copyright, Privacy, SOCIAL MEDIA.

  A recent decision of the Ontario Superior Court in Doe 464533 v. ND found damages available to the victim of revenge porn[1] – the public sharing of a sexually explicit video without the consent of the victim – under the novel privacy tort of “publication of embarrassing private facts”.[2]  The decision of the Court […]


Technological Neutrality – CBC v. SODRAC

By Daniel Nashid on Friday, January 29th, 2016 in Copyright, INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, NEW MEDIA.

  Supreme Court of Canada affirms principle of technological neutrality and clarifies its application.   Copyright is a creature of statute.  It is a right granted to creators by statute only.  It is comprised of a bundle of independent rights (synchronization, reproduction, communication, performance) conferred on authors and creators by Parliament.  Given its nature, the […]


Trademarks as SEO

By Daniel Nashid on Saturday, October 31st, 2015 in INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, Trademarks.

  Use of Competitor’s Trademark as a Keyword Not Infringement   Is use of a competitor’s trademark as a keyword or metatag[1] for search engine optimization (SEO)[2] infringement?  Does the trademark owner have any recourse?  The Courts have found that use of a competitor’s trademark does not constitute infringement or passing off.  In Canada, recent […]


Landmark Equustek Decision Prohibits Search Engines from Listing Offending Search Results

By Daniel Nashid on Wednesday, September 2nd, 2015 in Copyright, INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, Trademarks.

The British Columbia Court of Appeal released its highly anticipated decision in Equustek Solutions Inc. v. Google Inc.[1] on June 11, 2015.  The Court of Appeal upheld the right of an aggrieved party to obtain an injunction against an internet search engine, such as Google, from including offending websites and domains in its search results […]


Combating Counterfeit Products Act: Protect Your Brand At the Border

By Daniel Nashid on Tuesday, July 14th, 2015 in INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, Trademarks.

  As of December 9, 2014 Canadian brand owners can take advantage of enforcement tools at the border with the introduction of the Combating Counterfeit Products Act (the “CCPA”).  The CCPA provides further protection to brand owners by expanding the definition of infringement, with the addition of new criminal sanctions and offences under the Trademarks […]


The Extract Trial, or the Cookie Case. Supreme Court of Canada finds prohibition against edibles unconstitutional. R v. Smith, 2015 SCC 34

By Daniel Nashid on Tuesday, June 23rd, 2015 in CANNABIS, MEDICINAL MARIHUANA.

  Facts Owen Smith, head baker of the Victoria Cannabis Buyer’s Club, was charged with producing cannabis derivatives under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (“CDSA”) ss. 4(1) and 5(2). Smith produced edible and topical marihuana derivatives for sale to members of the compassion club. It was not for his own use. At the time […]