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: Marketing
New fee to play recorded music at parties
Weddings are expensive. Thanks to a recent decision by the Copyright Board, it’s going to become a little bit more expensive starting this summer. The Copyright Board of Canada has recently allowed new tariffs to be collected for playing recorded … Continue reading
Trademarking a sound in Canada
Great news for marketers, as starting today, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office will accept trademark applications for a mark consisting of a sound. This means that previously unprotected marketing materials such as jingles, vocal slogans, and song snippets that are … 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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Trademark registration and a search for prior use
Your brand is a way for your customers to identify and distinguish your goods and services from that of some else’s goods and services. Businesses therefore safeguard their brand with the registration of one or more trademarks. When registering for … Continue reading
The New Consumer Product Safety Act
Late last year, the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act was enacted into law, as part of the government’s effort to protect the public from dangers to human health or safety from both imported and domestic consumer products. The Act is … Continue reading
Anti-spam law enacted in Canada
On Wednesday, Canada becomes the final G8 country to have laws specifically targeting unsolicited email marketing (spam). Being a Canadian law, it only applies to spam originating from Canada. So while it may not make that much difference in the … Continue reading
Incorporating your start-up
You’ve got a great idea for a business, and you’re eager to get started. You don’t have a lot of start-up funds, and you want to ensure that most of your funds stay in your business. When should you incorporate? … Continue reading
What’s a registered trademark and why do I want one?
When you buy a mobile phone, do you look for a phone with a full QWERTY keyboard, or do you look for a BlackBerry? When you buy a handbag, do you look for a leather handbag with zippers, or do … Continue reading
