About
Welcome to my blog, where I write about various interesting legal issues in Canada.
David Lam
Lawyer
Ontario, Canada
I am a lawyer practicing business law, real estate law, intellectual property law (patents, trademarks, copyright, licensing), and litigation in the Greater Toronto Area.
For more information, visit http://www.davidlam.ca.
Category Archives: Litigation
Telus records all your texts
Yesterday, the Supreme Court in R. v. Telus, 2013 SCC 16 made an interesting ruling on what types of warrants are applicable to text messages under the Criminal Code. What’s interesting isn’t the ruling – as expected, the Court decided … Continue reading
Are emails at work confidential or privileged?
A reader wondered about communicating with her lawyer from work. In particular, she wondered if such communications are confidential or privileged. Generally, communications between a client and her lawyer are subject to solicitor-client privilege, and may not be revealed in … Continue reading
Posted in Business Law, Employment Law, Litigation
Tagged Business, Employer Rights, Worker Rights
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The BBM trademark and Research in Motion
Finally some good news for Research in Motion this morning, as the Federal Court dismissed a lawsuit by BBM Canada challenging the use of the trade-mark “BBM” by Research in Motion Limited (RIM) in the promotion of its BlackBerry Messenger … Continue reading
Posted in Litigation, Trademark Law
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Robinson Sucroë and copyright infringement
For the last 16 years, Claude Robinson has been fighting television giant Cinar in Quebec court, alleging that Robinson Sucroë, an animated television series from Quebec, was plagiarized from Robinson Curiosité, an earlier work by Claude Robinson. In 2009, the … Continue reading
Posted in Copyright Law, Litigation
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Ontario court confirms new privacy tort
Earlier this year, the Ontario Court of Appeal in Jones v. Tsige, 2012 ONCA 32 confirmed the existence of a new tort of privacy, a cause of “action for intrusion upon seclusion”: One who intentionally intrudes, physically or otherwise, upon … Continue reading
Defamation and linking to defamatory materials
The Supreme Court today tackled the issue of whether a hyperlink linking to another web page with defamatory material is itself defamatory. The Court concluded that the use of a hyperlink to link to another page with defamatory material is … Continue reading
Posted in Litigation, Marketing
Tagged Consumer Rights, Domain Names, Litigation, News
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BC court confirms website terms of use enforceable as legal contracts
In Century 21 Canada Limited Partnership v. Rogers Communications Inc., 2011 BCSC 1196, the BC Court held that Rogers infringed Century 21′s copyright and terms of use by scraping Century 21′s real estate listings from its website and incorporating the … Continue reading
Posted in Business Law, Copyright Law, Litigation, Marketing, Real Estate Law
Tagged Business, News, Startups
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Changes to rules regarding .ca domain disputes
The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) recently announced changes to the CIRA Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (CDRP). The CDRP, which governs disputes over .ca domain names alleged to be registered in bad faith, has been in effect since 2002. … Continue reading
Posted in Business Law, Copyright Law, Litigation, Marketing, Telecom Law, Trademark Law
Tagged .ca Domains, Domain Names, Litigation
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The drive to determine what is patentable
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal of Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories, Inc., on the issue of whether or not methods of medical diagnosis are patentable in the US. Closer to home, tomorrow is … Continue reading
Posted in Litigation, Patent Law
Tagged Business Methods, Methods of Medical Diagnosis, News, US Law, US Supreme Court
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Patents claiming a method of doing business – Appeal to be heard in June
As posted earlier, the Federal Court in Amazon v. Canada, 2010 FC 1011 held that a method of doing business (a “business method”) can be patentable subject matter. The Department of Justice on behalf of the Canadian Intellectual Property Office … Continue reading
