Canadian Competition Law: Developments In Intellectual Property And Corporate Compliance

There were three notable substantive developments arising from last week's Canadian Bar Association Annual Fall Competition Law Conference and a speech and white paper issued by Canada's Commissioner of Competition on September 23, 2014.

UPDATES TO INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ENFORCEMENT GUIDELINES

On September 18, 2014, the Competition Bureau (Bureau) issued an updated version of its Intellectual Property Enforcement Guidelines (IPEG). The IPEGs were originally issued in 2000. This updated version is intended to bring the enforcement guidelines into alignment with the Competition Act (Act), which was subject to significant amendment in 2009. Like the original iteration, the updated IPEGs distinguish between conduct that involves the "mere exercise" of an intellectual property right, and conduct involving an IP right that is something else.