Author Archives: David Lam

About David Lam

David Lam is 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 and to contact David, please visit https://www.davidlam.ca.

Pre-construction real estate risk and rewards

Posted on Wednesday, August 14, 2019 by David Lam

Recently I sat down with Daniel Char, a mortgage broker who helps real estate buyers get mortgage financing. We talked about a lot of things that home buyers should be aware of, including some risks and rewards of buying pre-construction … Continue reading →

Posted in Real Estate Law | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

New first time home buyer incentive

Posted on Sunday, July 28, 2019 by David Lam

Earlier this year, Trudeau’s federal budget for 2019 outlined a new incentive to help first time homebuyers buy their first home that he called a “shared equity mortgage”. It’s effectively an interest free loan from the federal government for eligible … Continue reading →

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Tourists and US gun ranges

Posted on Wednesday, September 27, 2017 by David Lam

It can be tempting to go to a gun range in the US and shoot some guns, especially fully automatic weapons such as machine guns which are prohibited in Canada. Gun ranges near Las Vegas cater especially to the tourist … Continue reading →

Posted in Criminal Law | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Police can search smartphone without a warrant on arrest

Posted on Thursday, December 11, 2014 by David Lam

Smartphones today hold our entire digital lives. Not only do they hold our intimate emails and text messages, but much more importantly our smartphones also contains apps such as Dropbox and OneDrive which are already logged in and allows access … Continue reading →

Posted in Criminal Law, Litigation, Privacy Law | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Supplementary tax bill for new house or condo

Posted on Friday, April 4, 2014 by David Lam

A new house or condo can be very exciting. If you’re a first time homebuyer as well, that’s doubly exciting. But as an owner of a new house or condo, there are also special challenges as well. One of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Real Estate Law | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Don’t sign a new cell phone contract until Dec 2, 2013

Posted on Monday, June 3, 2013 by David Lam

In a consumer-friendly move, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) released some new rules today governing new cell phone contracts. The new rules will apply to new cell phone contracts that start on December 2, 2013. In particular, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Telecom Law | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Telus records all your texts

Posted on Thursday, March 28, 2013 by David Lam

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 →

Posted in Litigation, Privacy Law, Telecom Law | Tagged , , | 15 Comments

Are emails at work confidential or privileged?

Posted on Monday, September 10, 2012 by David Lam

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 , , | 3 Comments

New fee to play recorded music at parties

Posted on Saturday, July 7, 2012 by David Lam

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 →

Posted in Copyright Law, Marketing | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Colbert and Stewart: Copyright fair dealing

Posted on Friday, June 8, 2012 by David Lam

Have you ever wondered how Stephen Colbert or Jon Stewart can reproduce news clips without being sued for copyright infringement? Just because something is under copyright doesn’t mean it cannot be copied or used by someone other than the author. … Continue reading →

Posted in Copyright Law, Telecom Law | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment