Written by: Christopher Chiavatti (IP Lawyer) & Liz Gray (IP Lawyer) Canadian small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can access the federal government’s expanded Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) to help support innovation. The expanded IRAP program now includes the “IP Assist” program to help Canadian SMEs in their …
By: Christopher Chiavatti (IP Lawyer) & Greg Parth (Summer Student) Quebec’s recently passed Bill 96 strengthens requirements for the use of French, including for businesses operating in Quebec. In this article, we highlight three areas to which businesses will want to pay particular attention: Contracts; Trademarks; and Penalties …
Every so often, a patent application makes us wonder “but why?”. We recently came across this 2014 decision of the Commissioner of Patents regarding Canadian Patent Application No. 2,371,743, entitled “Alcoholic Yogurt Refreshment”. But why, we asked, would a person want to spike their yogurt? The answer: “to …
Nike is suing Vancouver-based Lululemon for allegedly wilfully infringing six patents owned by Nike. The patents at issue relate to fitness technology used by Mirror, a home-gym company acquired by Lululemon in 2020. Among examples of the allegedly infringing technology given by Nike is an adaptive watch that monitors the heart rate of a …
Canadian Thanksgiving is six weeks ahead of its more famous counterpart in the United States. This gives Canadians a six-week headstart ahead of festivities south of the US-Canadian border — but we still celebrate with pumpkin pie, (Canadian) football, and of course, plenty of turkey. In celebration, Brion …
Today, Brion Raffoul celebrates World IP Day. The theme for 2021 is IP and SMEs: Taking your ideas to market. Intellectual Property rights are crucial to helping SMEs take their innovations to the next level, and play a fundamental role in encouraging innovation and creativity within your organization. …
Natalie Raffoul, managing partner at Brion Raffoul, has been selected as one of this year’s IAM Strategy 300 Global Leaders. The inaugural digital edition of the guide identifies the individuals who are leading the way in the development and implementation of strategies that maximize the value of IP …
By Chris Chiavatti, Liz Gray, and Natalie Raffoul On January 6, 2021, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) announced that the PPH pilot program between the CIPO and the European Patent Office (EPO) will now be permanent. The CIPO-EPO PPH allows patent applicants to request accelerated examination in …
Wednesday, December 9, 2020, marked the official launch date of Canada’s first patent collective, implemented through the Innovation Asset Collective (IAC)! The IAC will primarily focus on improving the IP strategy and patent portfolios of its member companies, with a view to improving the freedom to operate of …
By Chris Chiavatti, Liz Gray, and Dennis Hazsko The ongoing shift towards cleaner energy sources, and electric cars in particular, is driving the quest for better storage of electricity. Innovators around the world are seeking to make batteries that are more powerful, longer-lasting, lighter, and cheaper than ever …
