Intellectual Property & Technology Law
Submitted by Section Chair, Vincent Kam Sun Yip
Summary of Meetings
Number of Meetings Held: 4
November 13, 2013
Guest Speaker: N/A
Meeting Title/Topic: Social Gathering
Synopsis: Social gathering of section members.
February 21, 2014
Guest Speaker: Matthew Peters, Partner at McCarthy Tétrault LLP
Meeting Title/Topic: Replacing my Wallet with a Phone - The Legal and Regulatory Landscape for Mobile Payments
Synopsis: The speaker spoke to our Section members about the legal and regulatory challenges around adoption of near-field-communication and other technologies in mobile payments, including legal issues around implementation, security, carrier/service provider liability, and privacy.
April 25, 2014
Guest Speakers: Stephen Ferance, Partner at Smart & Biggar/Fetherstonhaugh & Co., Todd Rattray, Partner at Oyen Wiggs Green & Mutala LLP, and Roch Ripley, Partner at Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP
Meeting Title/Topic: Recent Developments in U.S. and Canadian Patent Law and Practice - Patentable Subject Matter and PPH
Synopsis: The speakers spoke to Section members about recent developments in Canadian and U.S. patent law and prosecution practice, including CLS v. Alice, examination guidelines on patentable subject matter, and the patent prosecution highway. The speakers also provided practical advice as to how to address these recent developments.
June 19, 2014
Guest Speakers: Karen F. MacDonald, Counsel at Bull Housser & Tupper LLP, and Jeffrey Vicq, Partner at Clark Wilson LLP
Meeting Title/Topic: "Use Madrid Nice[ly]" - A Roundtable Discussion on the Omnibus Budget Bill Amendments to the Trade-marks Act
Synopsis: The speakers went through key changes to the Trade-marks Act, including the elimination of use as a requirement for trade-mark registration and the implementation of Madrid and Nice Classification. The speakers also had a roundtable discussion with the attendees on the practical impact of these amendments to trade-mark practitioners in both private practice and in-house.
Comments and Observations of the Chair
The Intellectual Property and Technology Law Section had another successful year with 4 events, a social gathering and 3 Section meetings. The 3 Section meetings covered the technology law topic of mobile payments and the intellectual property law topics of patents and trade-marks. We had solid attendance at our meetings with both senior practitioners (both in-house and in private practice) and young lawyers attending our meetings.
The Section is looking to expand its reach and participation from other areas of the province. We organized a group webinar viewing in Victoria, B.C. for one of the Section meetings for the first time, and we are looking to continue to build participation outside Vancouver.