Author: Robert Shek

About Robert Shek

Robert Shek’s intellectual property practice is focused on providing strategic guidance in the field of trademarks, copyright and patents.

Is Mariah Carey the QUEEN OF CHRISTMAS®?  Not according to the US Trademark Office!

Close-up of Christmas ornements hung on a Christmas tree.

Mariah Carey wrote and recorded one of the world’s most well known Christmas songs, ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU.  Originally released in 1994, it has become a staple of holiday music playlists; the song has reported earned over $60 million in royalties.  In view of this, Mariah Carey could arguably call herself the QUEEN OF CHRISTMAS, right?

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Canadian Patent Rules Coming into Force on October 3, 2022

The Canadian flag and downtown office buildings

UPDATE: Further to the below article, the Patent Rules have now been published in Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 156, Number 13.  This issue of the Canada Gazette may be accessed here in HTML format, or here in PDF format.


As covered in the blog previously, Canada’s patent regime has been undergoing significant changes.  Our earlier posts about these changes and what steps patentees can take to mitigate the impacts of these changes can be found here and here.  The amendments are meant to reduce prosecution time and streamline the examination process.

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Today’s Youth, Tomorrow’s Innovators: Emerging Technologies Present Challenges and Opportunities for the Creation and Protection of IP

Three person are looking at a screen with data

In celebration of this year’s theme for World IP Day, IP and Youth: Innovating for a Better Future, we are exploring the IP implications of emerging technologies that may shape our collective future: (A) artificial intelligence, (B) the metaverse, (C) non-fungible tokens, and (D) clean technologies.

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