By Daniel Nashid on Tuesday, October 27th, 2020 in INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY.
The Criminal Code of Canada has been amended to include an offence relating to trade secrets. The amendment was made pursuant to the Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement Implementation Act, (S.C 2020, c.1), which implements the Agreement between Canada, the United States of America and the United Mexican States, revising the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). […]
By Daniel Nashid on Wednesday, September 5th, 2018 in INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, Trademarks.
Registrability ® Previously, I wrote about why you should register your trademark. But, is your brand name registrable under the Trademarks Act? Many business people and brand owners are unaware of the constraints relating to the types of trademarks that cannot be registered under the Act. The right to registration is not inherent in any […]
By Daniel Nashid on Thursday, November 10th, 2016 in INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, SOCIAL MEDIA, Trademarks.
A registered trademark provides protection for brands and businesses online and in the traditional offline economy. A registered trademark can protect the name of your products and services. The process for obtaining a registered trademark can be confusing and complex, a smart entrepreneur would do well to engage the services of a professional to […]
By Daniel Nashid on Tuesday, October 18th, 2016 in INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, Trademarks.
Cybersquatting: Trademark dilution, confusion, & brand protection Is a competitor or third party operating a domain name that is identical or confusingly similar to your trademark? If so, they may be considered a “cybersquatter.” The Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) (available here) provides trademark and brand owners with a quick and […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]