Publications

April 14, 2021

Loss of personal information: The Superior Court dismisses a class action

On March 26, 2021, the Superior Court rendered a decision dismissing a class action against the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (“IIROC”) on the loss of personal information of thousands of Canadian investors.1 The lack of evidence of compensable injury and IIROC’s diligent (…)

March 31, 2021

Pre‑ruling Consultation with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA): a little‑known yet practical service

Canada’s tax system is very complex and tends to become more complex over time. Amendments to tax laws in recent years have not simplified our tax system, quite the contrary. The introduction of various intention tests in tax laws has also further increased tax authorities’ discretion as to the (…)

March 12, 2021

Studios and designers: How to protect the intellectual property of your video games?

Behind every video game, there is intellectual property (IP) which is worth protecting to optimize monetisation of the game. As discussed in Studios and designers: Are you sure that you own the intellectual property rights to your video games, the first step for studios and designers is to make sure (…)

March 11, 2021

COVID-19: Anticipating Capital Gains, Wealth, Gift and Inheritance Taxes

The deficits being generated by the emergency measures that the federal and provincial governments have implemented since March 2020 are a reminder of the magnitude of our governments’ pre-crisis deficits. This situation will inevitably lead to a greater tax burden for businesses and individuals at (…)

March 3, 2021

Product advertising in the time of COVID-19: Health Canada and the Competition Bureau are on the lookout for misleading claims

It’s been more than a year since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and many companies are attempting to market products intended to help consumers deal with the risks associated with COVID-19. Some of the most common examples of such products include face masks, testing devices, hand sanitizers, and (…)

February 15, 2021

Payment to non-residents of Canada: How can the Multilateral Instrument (MLI) be applied?

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 (…)

February 8, 2021

The Doctrine of File Wrapper Estoppel in Canada: The Court of Appeal Hands Down its Decision

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 (…)

January 29, 2021

Artificial intelligence soon to be regulated in Canada?

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 (…)

January 15, 2021

Studios and designers: Are you sure that you own the intellectual property rights to your video games?

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 (…)

January 12, 2021

Work, Lockdown and Curfew: Answers to Your Questions

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 (…)

January 8, 2021

The tax system to the rescue of print media

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.  (…)

December 21, 2020

Ho-Ho Holiday Themed Patents

 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 (…)

December 18, 2020

Insurer's Duty to Defend: Bill 82 Opens the Door to Possible Limitations

On December 11, 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 (…)