The COVID-19 crisis has significantly slowed economic activity in all respects. The area of corporate mergers and acquisitions is no exception, and the level of activity, which was high before the crisis, has dropped significantly because of it. It is difficult to predict when and at what pace such activity will resume, but we expect that, like many other sectors of the economy, this market will be different from what it was before the crisis ...
The sale of a business is often the most significant business transaction in an entrepreneur's life. In addition, the net proceeds from such a sale often represent an entrepreneur's only retirement fund. Therefore, it is crucial to maximize such proceeds by reducing or deferring the taxes resulting from the transaction as much as possible ...
The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) has now made a further announcement concerning the extension of deadlines, to the effect that deadlines falling within March 16 to August 7, 2020, are extended to August 10, 2020. CIPO is otherwise still open for business and our IP team members have been continuing operations and transacting with CIPO on a regular basis, in a remote and secure manner ...
The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (the "CEWS") Is a key component of the Government of Canada's COVID-19 economic response plan. The purpose of the CEWS, adopted on April 11, 2020, is to help Canadians keep their jobs during the crisis and help companies maintain an employment relationship with their employees in order to recover more quickly when the economy returns to normal ...
Since 1995, the Federal Court of Canada has refused to hear questions relating solely to patent ownership. In Lawther v. 424470 BC . Ltd ...
In Yves Choueifaty v. Attorney General of Canada 1 , the Federal Court of Canada has issued a significant decision concerning the assessment of patent-eligible subject matter, including the approach to be used for such assessment during the examination of Canadian patent applications ...
One of the most common questions we receive as intellectual property lawyers is “How can I prevent others from using technology that I have developed and that has significant value to my business?” That question can often be answered by advising clients to file a patent application. However, there exists another type of intellectual property protection, known as a “trade secret,” that may be more suitable for certain situations and technologies ...
Cybersecurity will generally be a significant issue for businesses in the years to come. With teleworking, cloud computing and the advent of artificial intelligence, large amounts of data are likely to fall prey to hackers attracted by the personal information or trade secrets contained therein. From a legal standpoint, businesses have a duty to take reasonable steps to protect the personal information they hold ...
The Tax Court of Canada (the “Court”) recently upheld the deductibility of carrying charges incurred in connection with an issuance of shares. In so doing, the court upheld the tax benefits arising from a common financing practice. In addition, the Court reiterated the principle in tax matters according to which, save in exceptional cases, the legal relationships established by one or more taxpayers must be respected ...
A recent Ministerial Order1 from the Minister of National Revenue has formally extended certain deadlines under the Income Tax Act (“ITA”) and the Excise Tax Act (“ETA”). The Order is retroactive to March 13, 2020. The extension is 6 months or until December 31, 2020, whichever is earlier. This Ministerial Order will have various implications for taxpayers and registrants, in particular in terms of limitation periods ...
The COVID-19 pandemic has been not only causing major social upheaval but disrupting business development and the economy as well. Nevertheless, since last March, we have seen many developments and new projects involving self-driving vehicles (SDV). Here is an overview ...
The current crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has already caused, and will continue to cause, significant liquidity problems for some businesses. Companies whose financial difficulties threaten their very existence will have to restructure in order to avoid bankruptcy, either by availing themselves of the protection of the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act1 (the "CCAA") or by using the proposal mechanism of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act2 (the "BIA") ...
The first anniversary of the entry into force of the new Canadian Patent Rules, which significantly changed certain practices surrounding the filing and prosecution of patent applications in Canada, is an opportunity to look back at the major changes that have had a significant impact on Canadian patent practice. Indeed, the past year has allowed us to observe the changes, which in certain aspects seem to be confusing for patent applicants, and to observe their effect in practical terms ...
In the recent decision in Agracity Ltd. v. The Queen1, the Tax Court of Canada (the “Court”) endorsed the Canadian tax consequences of business transactions between a Canadian corporation (“Agracity”) and its Barbados affiliate (“NewAgco-Barbados”) within a group of companies operating in the agrochemical industry (the “Group”) ...
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed Canadian workplaces. For many organizations, the pandemic and its containment measures have fast-tracked the shift to teleworking. In this context, the Canada Revenue Agency (the “CRA”) and the Agence du Revenu du Québec (the“ARQ”) have published administrative positions regarding deductible expenses for employees working from home as well as for their employers ...
Artificial intelligence is one of the areas of technology where there is currently the most research and development in Canada. To preserve Canada's advantageous position in this area, it is important to consider all forms of intellectual property protection that may apply. Although copyright has historically been the preferred form of intellectual property in computer science, patents are nevertheless very useful in the field of artificial intelligence ...
In Canada, as elsewhere in the world, intellectual property owners have made numerous attempts to control their distribution channels through trademark law, copyright law, or exclusive contracts, without much success. However, in a recent decision ( Costco Wholesale Canada Ltd. v. Simms Sigal & Co. Ltd ...
On December 10, 2020, the Minister of Finance, Éric Girard, introduced and tabled Bill 82 entitled An Act respecting mainly the implementation of certain provisions of the Budget Speech of 10 March 2020 (hereinafter the " Bill" ) before the National Assembly. The Bill opens the door to possible limitations on the duty to defend with respect to certain categories of liability insurance contracts to be determined by regulation ...
At Lavery, we spend a lot of time searching patent databases on behalf of our clients. Occasionally, we come across certain patents / applications whose cleverness and creativity make a lasting impression. At this time of year, our attention is naturally drawn to those that are holiday themed. And so, in the spirit of the holidays, we thought it would be nice to share some of them with you ...
Canadian newspapers' loss of advertising revenues to the hands of internet giants over the past several years has jeopardized the very existence of many such newspapers. In 2018, our governments announced several advantageous tax measures in order to ensure the survival of independent print media ...
In order to reduce community transmission and preserve everyone's safety and that of our healthcare system, the government requires everyone to make extra efforts, both in their private lives and at work. The closure of retail businesses, save for some exceptions, is maintained, the lockdown to prevent gatherings continues and a curfew was added on January 9, 2021, to remain in effect until the currently announced date of February 8, 2021 1 ...
The year 2020 will have been difficult for the vast majority of industries, and in particular for the arts, entertainment and recreation industry. The video game industry, however, is growing in leaps and bounds. For example, Nintendo and PlayStation have each set record sales for their games released in 2020, including Animal Crossing:New Horizons and The Last of UsPart II. Over the past few decades, the number of video game players has never stopped increasing ...
For the time being, there are no specific laws governing the use of artificial intelligence in Canada. Certainly, the laws on the use of personal information and those that prohibit discrimination still apply, no matter if the technologies involved are so-called artificial intelligence technologies or conventional ones ...
In December 2018, section 53.1 was added to the Patent Act (the? Act?) Allowing reference to be made to communications exchanged with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office ("CIPO") During the prosecution of an application with respect? [... ] to the construction of a claim.? This concept is more commonly known as? File wrapper estoppel ...
The internationalization of trade has led to an increase in payments made by Canadian companies to non-residents of Canada, which are most of the time subject to Canadian withholding taxes. Canadian payers must ensure that they withhold the correct percentage of Canadian tax on such payments, as they are liable to the tax authorities for any failures on their part in this regard ...
