Shocking Result? Summary Trial On Battery Jump Starter Patent Fails To Get Going

Patent infringement cases are complex and technical, and historically Canadian courts were reluctant to endorse summary disposition in the patent context. However, in recent years there has been an increased trend towards the application of summary proceedings in this area. In particular, we have previously commented on decisions of the Federal Court ("FC") (Canmar, Kobold, and Janssen) and Federal Court of Appeal ("FCA") (Canmar and ViiV) that demonstrate the Court's willingness to approve summary proceedings in patent cases under the appropriate circumstances. Last fall, the FCA decision in Gemak was interpreted by some commentators as a return to the historical position, but in our view, Gemak can be viewed as tapping the brakes on summary judgment rather than signalling a more sweeping reversal of the trend towards summary adjudication.