Competition
August 18, 2017 McCarthy Tétrault LLP Business and Legal Issues, Competition, Corporate Administration, Finance and Accounting, Intellectual Property, IP,
On June 30, 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada, released a landmark patent decision (2017 SCC 36) abolishing Canada’s so-called ‘Promise Doctrine’ by finding it “unsound”, “not good law” and “incongruent with the both the words and scheme of the Patent Act.”
AstraZeneca, degree or quantum of usefulness, not good law, Patent Act, patent and design, patent infringement, patents, promise doctrine, prosecution of a patent application, touchstones for patentability in Canada, utility requirement
August 8, 2017 Occasional Contributors Business and Legal Issues, Competition, Corporate Governance, Finance and Accounting, Sales, Marketing and Operations,
Recently, the so-called “Big 6” (comprised of key Republican leaders from the White House and Congress) released a short and fairly vague mission statement for their “shared vision” for U.S. tax reform. While it is only five paragraphs long, the Joint Statement on Tax Reform (the Joint Statement) delivered major relief to Canadian businesses.
border adjustment tax, Canada's GDP, Canadian exports, consumption-based tax system, import tax, sales tax, US exports, US tax reform, value added tax
July 31, 2017 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B., Managing Editor Budgeting and Auditing, Business and Legal Issues, Competition, Corporate Administration, Finance and Accounting, Financial Compliance / Planning / Management, Government Budget, Throne Speech and Plans, Income Tax Planning / Tax Schedules / Remittances,
On July 18, 2017, the federal Department of Finance released legislative proposals and a consultation paper dealing with tax planning affecting private corporations. The goal is to close loopholes that allow wealthy Canadians to avoid higher tax rates, largely by targeting people who incorporate themselves and then draw income from their businesses while paying lower corporate taxes. These proposals, if enacted, will potentially affect most Canadian business owners who carry on their businesses through private corporations, significantly increase the complexity of the tax rules applicable to private corporations and reverse many long-standing tax policies that have encouraged business growth.
Capital gains, Department of Finance, income splitting, income sprinkling, Income Tax Act, internal control, kiddie tax, lifetime capital gains exemption, passive investment income, passive investment portfolio, passive investments, public consultation, split income, tax on split income, tax planning strategy, tax practices, TOSI
July 27, 2017 Occasional Contributors Accounts payable and receivable, Business and Legal Issues, Competition, Finance and Accounting, Intellectual Property, IP, Sales, Marketing and Operations,
This case and its discussion of the difficulty associated with the apportionment of lost sales may provide a path to an interlocutory injunction in cases with similar difficulties.
brand owners, Business slogans, damage to goodwill, infringing product, interlocutory injunction, lost sales, marketing, Sleep Country Canada Inc. v. Sears Canada Inc., Trademark, value proposition
July 24, 2017 Ethics &Compliance Matters ™, Navex Global ® Business and Legal Issues, Competition, Corporate Administration, Corporate Governance, E-Commerce, Finance and Accounting, Financial Compliance / Planning / Management, Intellectual Property, IP, IT, Privacy and Security, Privacy Compliance and Management, Sales, Marketing and Operations, Social Media/Social Networking,
I recently read an article in the Winter 2017 MIT Sloan Management Review, Mastering the Market Intelligence Challenge (Chari, Luce & Thukral). In this work, the authors address how “many multinationals simply import their domestic models into emerging markets.” And whilst this work is directed towards those who deal with market intelligence in emerging markets, the conclusions drawn are equally applicable to those who face compliance challenges in such frontier regions.
business risks, compliance, due diligence, economy, emerging markets, market intelligence, marketing, risk, risk intelligence, risk management, strategic assets
July 14, 2017 McCarthy Tétrault LLP Announcements and Administration, Business and Legal Issues, Competition, Corporate Governance, E-Commerce, Fraud and Corruption, Government Budget, Throne Speech and Plans, Intellectual Property, IP,
These NAFTA consultations offer a significant opportunity for companies to have input on the primary drivers of their access to Canadian, US and Mexican markets. With the EU-Canada CETA coming into force in the coming months, Canada will be in the unique position of having preferential trading and investment relationships with the world’s two largest economies.
anti-corruption, Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, CETA, Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, e-commerce, European Union, intellectual property, NAFTA, North American Free Trade Agreement, transparency, United States
July 4, 2017 Occasional Contributors Business and Legal Issues, Competition, Sales, Marketing and Operations,
The Court of Appeal for British Columbia has issued an injunction restraining a party from using its competitor’s trademarks in its keyword advertising. While the Court of Appeal stopped short of finding that bidding on keywords in and of itself is contrary to the Trade-marks Act, it did find that in this case, the Defendant’s use of the Plaintiff’s trademarks as keywords in the visible text of its sponsored link was a misrepresentation likely to cause confusion to the public.
intellectual property, keywords, litigation, marketing, trademarks
June 22, 2017 Occasional Contributors Announcements and Administration, Business and Legal Issues, Competition, Corporate Administration, Finance and Accounting,
On May 31, 2017, Ontario Attorney-General Yasir Naqvi introduced Bill 142, entitled “Construction Lien Amendment Act, 2017”. The Bill follows upon a report commissioned by the Ontario government and prepared by Bruce Reynolds and Sharon Vogel entitled “Striking the Balance: Expert Review of Ontario’s Construction Lien Act”. If enacted, the proposed legislation will introduce what is arguably the most sweeping set of changes that the Canadian construction industry has ever seen.
construction, Construction Act, construction disputes, Construction Lien Act, Construction Lien Amendment Act, contracts, liens
May 19, 2017 McCarthy Tétrault LLP Anti-spam, Do-not-Call, Board of Directors, Process and Responsibilities, Business and Legal Issues, Charities, Competition, Corporate Administration, Corporate Administration and Legal Matters, Corporate Governance, Cyberlaw, Internet Law, E-Commerce, IT, Privacy and Security, Leadership and Management, Mobile Device Management, Not for Profit, Privacy Compliance and Management, Sales, Marketing and Operations, Social Media/Social Networking, Software Acquisition, Implementation and Maintenance, Systems Acquisition, Maintenance and Disposal, Systems and Data Management, Web design and Management,
While much has been written about the impending CASL private rights of action, less has been said about the new private right of action CASL will tack on to the Competition Act for misrepresentations in electronic messages.
CASL, Competition Act, electronic messages, private right of action
April 10, 2017 Occasional Contributors Business and Legal Issues, Competition, Corporate Administration, Corporate Governance, Finance and Accounting, Intellectual Property, IP, Leadership and Management, Records Management and Retention, Sales, Marketing and Operations,
In Canada, the issue of whether an NDA may be an unenforceable restraint of trade has been explored in the employment law context, however, there has been very little discussion as to whether an NDA could be considered a restraint of trade in transactions between two or more businesses. There has also been little discussion in Canada as to the distinction between trade secrets and ordinary confidential information. As such, US case law may provide some guidance.
Access to Information Act, Confidential information, confidentiality agreement, DB Riley Inc v AB Engineering Corp, Di Giacomo v. Di Giacomo Canada Inc., Merck Frosst Canada Ltée c Canada (Ministre de la Santé), NDA, non-disclosure agreement, prima facie, Silicon Image Inc v Analogk Semiconductor Inc., trade secret, trade secret information, trade secret protection, trade secrets, Uniform Trade Secrets Act
March 24, 2017 Occasional Contributors Business and Legal Issues, Competition, Corporate Administration, Corporate Governance, Intellectual Property, IP, Leadership and Management, Sales, Marketing and Operations,
The Federal Court granted an interlocutory injunction restraining Sears from using the slogan “There is no reason to buy a mattress anywhere else”. Sleep Country owns two Canadian trademark registrations for the slogan “Why buy a mattress anywhere else?”. The slogan, and its accompanying musical jingle, have been used by Sleep Country in television, print, radio, and online advertising and promotional campaigns since 1994.
interlocutory injunction, Sleep Country Canada Inc. v. Sears Canada Inc., Trademark, trademark infringement
March 2, 2017 Occasional Contributors Accounting Systems and Controls, Accounts payable and receivable, Budgeting and Auditing, Business and Legal Issues, Competition, Corporate Administration, Finance and Accounting, Financial Compliance / Planning / Management, Government Budget, Throne Speech and Plans, Income Tax Planning / Tax Schedules / Remittances, Leadership and Management, Sales, Marketing and Operations,
On February 21, 2017, the Quebec government announced a plan to strengthen the Quebec economy as an executive-driven economy. The plan includes the enhancement of existing measures and the development of a number of new fiscal and legal measures designed to keep businesses in Quebec and facilitate the transfer of family businesses, therefore limiting the risk of their sale to foreign interests. The key measures include:
businesses in Quebec, Deferred payment of tax, Deployment of the Financial Initiatives Group, executive-driven economy, Fiscal measures, Harmonization of taxation of stock options with the federal regime, harmonized Canadian system governing hostile takeover bids, Head office, Legal measures, sale of businesses, Stock exchange
February 15, 2017 Occasional Contributors Business and Legal Issues, Competition, Corporate Administration, Corporate Governance, Fraud and Corruption, Intellectual Property, IP, IT, Privacy and Security, Leadership and Management, Network, Systems and Data Security, Privacy Compliance and Management, Sales, Marketing and Operations, Social Media/Social Networking, Software Acquisition, Implementation and Maintenance, Systems and Data Management, Web design and Management,
This article highlights noteworthy Canadian copyright law decisions and developments from 2016.
1395804 Ontario Ltd operating as Blacklock’s Reporter v. Canada (Attorney General), An Act to amend the Copyright Act (access to copyrighted works or other subject-matter for persons with perceptual disabilities), Bill C-11, Canadian Standards Assn v PS Knight Co, copyright, Copyright Act, copyright law, Corocord Raumnetz GmbH v. Dynamo Industries Inc, Davydiuk v Internet Archive, defence of fair dealing, Geophysical Service Inc. v. Encana Corp., issue estoppel, Keatley Surveying Ltd v. Teranet Inc, Maltz v. Witterick, res judicata, Rogers Communications Partnership v. SOCAN
February 8, 2017 Occasional Contributors Accounting Systems and Controls, Accounts payable and receivable, Budgeting and Auditing, Business and Legal Issues, Competition, Corporate Administration, Corporate Governance, Finance and Accounting, Financial Compliance / Planning / Management, Income Tax Planning / Tax Schedules / Remittances, Leadership and Management, Payroll and Personnel Management, Records Management and Retention, Sales, Marketing and Operations,
The first week of Trump’s administration has revealed a highly activist White House, hewing with surprising fidelity to campaign promises. The pace of change is materially faster than anticipated and the implications may be felt sooner rather than later.
border protection, Environmental Protection Agency, immigration, job protection, Muslim–majority countries, NAFTA, refugees entry into the United States, tariff, tariff on Mexican goods, Trans-Pacific Partnership, Trump, Trump administration
January 30, 2017 Occasional Contributors Accounting Systems and Controls, Accounts payable and receivable, Business and Legal Issues, Competition, Corporate Administration, Corporate Governance, Finance and Accounting, Financial Compliance / Planning / Management, Fraud and Corruption, Income Tax Planning / Tax Schedules / Remittances, Leadership and Management, Payroll and Personnel Management, Records Management and Retention, Sales, Marketing and Operations,
On December 20, 2016, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada released new guidelines in respect of politically exposed persons and heads of international organizations. A separate guideline was released for each of financial entities, securities dealers, life insurance companies, agents and brokers and money services businesses. The Guidelines will be effective June 17, 2017.
Anti-money laundering, Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre, FINTRAC, heads of international organizations, money laundering update, politically exposed persons, Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act
