Analysis, Canada

Federal Court clarifies that proper process for bringing a claim under the notice-and-notice regime—somewhat

Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have seen an increase in litigation related to Canada’s notice-and-notice regime since it was added to the Copyright Act in 2012. Plaintiffs, generally the owners of copyright in films, have brought claims in Federal Court using various procedures. The Court recently released a decision offering guidance on the proper way to do so although there is still some uncertainty on this point.

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Analysis, Canada

Mind the GAP: The PMPRB Changes Definition of GAP Medicines and Reduces Compliance Timeline

On January 15, 2021, the Patented Medicines Prices Review Board (“PMPRB”) initiated a consultation on two proposed amendments to the new PMPRB Guidelines (“Guidelines”): (1) the definition of Gap medicines; and (2) the compliance timeline for Grandfathered and Gap medicines. 

According to the PMPRB, the two amendments were required due to the change in the coming-into-force date of the Regulations Amending the Patented Medicines Regulations (“Regulations”), which was pushed from January 1, 2021 to July 1, 2021.

And so, on March 17th, the PMPRB rendered its decision.

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Analysis, Copyrights

Video Game Streamers: Free promotion, copyright infringement, or both?

Just before New Year, a controversial piece of US legislation tucked into a COVID-19 relief package had people who stream video gameplay online concerned that their livelihood was about to be criminalized. While a careful reading of the legislation reveals that the initial reaction was unwarranted and perhaps overblown, it does raise some interesting questions about the legal status of “streamers” and the interplay between game publishers and online video content creators.

Streamers use internet platforms such as Twitch and YouTube to broadcast videos of themselves to their fans and followers. Some of the most popular streamers will play videos games on camera during the streams. These gameplay videos are sometimes referred to a “Let’s Play” videos (as in, “Let’s Play Animal Crossing” or “Let’s Play Assassin’s Creed”). They earn revenue by offering subscriptions, accepting donations from fans, promoting products and services, and selling merchandise. The videos are live streamed so viewers can interact in real time with the streamer using a chat function. Many of the videos are also stored and can be viewed on-demand later.

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Intellectual property

Cloud Contracts: The Impact of Common Terms of Service Provisions on Intellectual Property Rights

light bulb cloud

Many people have a great deal of digital content stored “in the cloud”, often through email, social media platforms, file storage and other related services. Whether it is the storage of user-created content, such as photos, videos or documents, or content that users pay to access, such as music and e-books, the use of such services is governed by the Terms of Service (“ToS”)[1] of the relevant company (“online service provider”).  

Despite the often monetary or emotional value of such user-created content, ToS tend to be contracts of adhesion; if a person wants to use an online service provider, they generally have no option but to agree to that online service provider’s ToS. As ToS are almost always unilaterally-generated contracts where the individual has no negotiating power vis-à-vis the online service provider, the reality is that most people usually accept ToS without actually reading them. As a result, many are unaware of how the ToS affect their rights to the accounts with these service providers and the content stored in association with them, or the rights their heirs might have in this regard after they die.[2] This is particularly the case for an individual’s copyright with respect to the content that they create through or store with the online service provider.

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Canada, Trademark

The Federal Court of Appeal Upholds Finding that Trademark Use Can Be Established Without a Physical Presence in Canada.

With the rise of e-commerce, many non-Canadian businesses can now advertise their services to Canadians online without having any physical presence in Canada. If these businesses have Canadian registered trademarks associated with these services, there are however important considerations for businesses wanting to properly maintain their trademarks in Canada. Unlike other forms of intellectual property, an owner of a Canadian trademark must “use” their registered mark in Canadian commerce or it may lose the protections provided by the Trademarks Act. It goes without saying that without a physical presence in Canada, it could be challenging for foreign trademark owners to prove that they are meeting the “use” requirement. The WALDORF ASTORIA case provides helpful guidance for foreign trademark owners to mitigate the risk of compromising their intellectual property.  

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