Top Ten Rx IP Update Reads Of 2024

The regulations affecting trademarks weren't fully in effect until 2025. More than a year later, the number of complaints against businesses has never been higher.

In Ontario, business owners typically consider franchising versus licensing as they plan to grow their company. Both methods promote growth through the resources of a third party, but they work in dramatically different ways.

Canada's Intellectual Property Office has introduced a new expedited examination program for patent applications in critical technology sectors. The Key Technology Expedited Program waives the advanced examination fee and promises first office action within seven months for qualifying applications related to critical minerals supply chain innovations.

The Canadian Intellectual Property Office has issued new guidance on when trademark applicants can redact postal addresses or remove documents from public records. Understanding these strict requirements and exceptional circumstances is crucial for protecting privacy while maintaining compliance with Canada's trademark registration transparency obligations.

The rapid expansion of data centre infrastructure has made these facilities a focal point for technological innovation and intellectual property investment. From server configurations to advanced cooling systems, the technologies deployed inside data centres represent significant R&D expenditure and competitive advantages. Patent protection offers operators and developers opportunities to safeguard innovations...

For Canadian innovators, the patenting process can seem unreasonably slow. In an effort to address this, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) created various procedures to expedite the examination process in Canada. Knowing which fast track options exist, when they make sense, and how to use them effectively can provide a significant commercial advantage.

CanLII, Canada's free legal database, and Caseway, an AI legal research platform, have reportedly reached a settlement in their copyright dispute over the use of legal case data for artificial intelligence training purposes. The resolution addresses concerns about unauthorized use of publicly available legal materials and the boundaries of AI development in the legal technology sector.

The patent landscape is evolving as entrepreneurs and investors seek new approaches to protecting IP rights consistently across jurisdictions. Organizations like the Intellectual Property Owners Association provide forums to voice concerns, analyze issues, and advance policies aimed at accelerating innovation across borders.

Recent US case law has raised the possibility that the common practice of including an expiry date in a non-disclosure agreement or "NDA" (also known as a confidentiality agreement)...

In a plot twist no one saw coming—except literally everyone—Warner Bros. and DC Comics are facing yet another legal battle over Superman.

Health Canada issued revised guidance on notifying Health Canada of foreign actions, effective October 1, 2026. The revised guidance clarifies the requirements to notify Health Canada of certain foreign regulatory actions specified in subsection C.01.050(2) of the Food and Drug Regulations in the specified foreign jurisdictions, which involve a serious risk of injury to human health and are relevant to the safety of the drug.

COLD-FX is a top-selling natural health product in Canada, with sales topping nearly $120-million as recently as 2011, according to a November 15, 2015 Globe and Mail article, "Why COLD-FX is too good to be true".

On December 20, 2023, the Federal Court issued a Notice to the Parties and the Profession regarding the use of artificial intelligence in court proceedings. In line with several other provincial

The Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences Sector Task Force has released its final report addressing Canada's challenges in medication access, regulatory processes, and life sciences competitiveness. The report examines structural issues including lengthy reimbursement pathways, underperforming clinical trial environments, and erosion of domestic investment, while proposing 39 recommendation areas to strengthen Canada's health sovereignty and industrial strategy.

Health Canada is not currently meeting its performance standards for the review of some generic drug submissions. On September 1, 2026, Health Canada launched a new webpage, Improving how we review generic drugs, and released three notices on proposed actions to address the backlog of generic drug submissions under review.

For a Canadian patent application to be examined, an applicant must file a request for examination with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO). In most cases, the order in which applications are examined is based on the order that the requests for examination are received. An applicant may be able to accelerate examination of their patent application through several existing mechanisms, including advancing examination via special order, accelerating examination of applications related to green technology, and the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH).

The Board will hold a public hearing (on a date to be determined no later than February 27, 2019) to determine whether Horizon Therapeutics Canada is selling ...

As we previously reported, Health Canada consulted on the framework for clinical trials, including on the new Clinical Trials Regulations and draft and updated guidance documents. Health Canada has now published a What we heard overview of the results of the consultation.

On February 15, 2017, the European Parliament voted to approve the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).

September 21, 2026, marked the ninth anniversary of the significant amendments to the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations (Regulations).