Mat Brechtel (CA)

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Google Goes Organic to Fight Counterfeiters

In the midst of the global pandemic, Google has provided some welcome news in the ongoing fight against counterfeiters. Google recently updated its legal complaint system to allow trademark owners to report webpages that sell or promote the sale of counterfeit goods, and has committed to removing the webpages from the search engine’s organic (non-advertisement) … Continue reading

Courts Across Canada Continue Reopening Plans

By Mat Brechtel (CA), Madeleine Hodgson (CA) and Renaud Garon Gendron on May 28, 2020 Posted in Copyright, Counterfeiting, General

Update – Response from Canadian Courts to COVID-19 As many Canadian jurisdictions begin to relax certain social distancing measures, it is time for an update on the status of the courts across Canada. As with the rest of us, the courts across Canada continue to take steps to combat the spread of COVID-19, but are … Continue reading

Ready, set, Zoom! Trials in the time of COVID-19

By James Jeffries-Chung and Mat Brechtel (CA) on May 27, 2020 Posted in General

On May 21, 2020, in Rovi Guides, Inc. v Videotron Ltd., the Federal Court of Canada took an important step forward in its digital evolution, setting the parameters for a remote trial to be conducted by videoconference, following a trial management conference. The decision gives an indication as to how the Federal Court envisages trials … Continue reading

Canadian Court Openings Begin – Closure Updates May 1

By Madeleine Hodgson (CA), Renaud Garon Gendron, Mat Brechtel (CA) and Mark Edward Davis (CA) on May 1, 2020 Posted in Advertising, Copyright

Please see our updated version of this article, published May 28, 2020. As a further update to our post earlier this week, the Federal Court and British Columbia Supreme Court issued updated notices, and Quebec has extended its declaration of a state of health emergency until May 6, 2020. We will continue to provide updates … Continue reading

Court Suspensions Continue, with Some Exceptions

By Madeleine Hodgson (CA), Renaud Garon Gendron, Mat Brechtel (CA) and Mark Edward Davis (CA) on April 27, 2020 Posted in Copyright, Counterfeiting, General, Patents, Trademark

Please see our updated version of this article, published May 28, 2020. An Update on the Response from Canadian Courts to COVID-19 We are now more than a month in to social distancing measures, and it is time for an update on the status of the courts across Canada. As with the rest of us, … Continue reading

Response from Canadian Courts to COVID-19

By Madeleine Hodgson (CA), Renaud Garon Gendron, Mat Brechtel (CA) and Mark Edward Davis (CA) on March 21, 2020 Posted in Copyright, General, Patents, Trademark

Please see our updated version of this article, published May 28, 2020. We know you have a lot to think about and plan right now and over the next few weeks. You can rely on us to keep your intellectual property litigation matters moving forward. To that end, we wanted to provide an update on … Continue reading

UPDATE ON COVID-19 : CIPO announces extensions in wake of outbreak in Canada

By Mihaela Dumitrean, Catherine Daigle (CA) and Mat Brechtel (CA) on March 21, 2020 Posted in Copyright, General, Patents, Trademark

Given the many challenges faced by all businesses in dealing with the COVID-19 outbreak, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) has advised that it will relax filing deadlines for the remainder of March 2020. This decision was first announced on March 16, 2020 and further updated yesterday, March 19, 2020. What you need to know All … Continue reading

Bill C-86 – Tinkering with official marks in Canada

By Mat Brechtel (CA) on November 30, 2018 Posted in General

In addition to its more substantive changes to IP law, budget implementation Bill C-86 also takes the opportunity to fix a curious, and perhaps unintended, aspect of Canada’s official marks scheme. Official marks are marks that appear on the trademark register once they are adopted by a public authority. Unlike trademarks, which are subject to expungement … Continue reading