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.
Tag Archives: News
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
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
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
Setback for creation of Canada wide securities regulator
In the United States, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulates capital markets, including the stock market throughout the entire country. In Ontario, the Ontario Securities Commission regulates the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), while in BC the British Columbia Securities … 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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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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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
A Canadian’s right to access information held by the government
Under Canada’s Access to Information Act, in general any Canadian citizen or permanent resident may request and may be given access to any record under the control of a government institution. The Act includes a list of all such “government … Continue reading
SCC will hear copyright in education case
Under the Copyright Act, anyone can make non-infringing use of copyrighted material provided the use is made for an allowed purpose and is fair. This is known as fair dealing. Allowed purposes under the Copyright Act include “research or private … Continue reading
