According to the Canadian "Patent Act" a patent will only be granted if an invention is novel, non-obvious and useful, assuming that the claims define statutory (i.e., patentable) subject matter.

On July 17, 2008 the Supreme Court rendered a highly anticipated decision in Hydro-Québec v. Syndicat des employé-e-s de techniques professionnelles et de bureau d'Hydro-Québec, section locale 2000 (SCFP-FTQ).

On February 1, 2009, most of the provisions of the Québec Derivatives Act came into force by government decree. The Derivatives Regulation and three policy statements came into force on the same date.

The number of recalls and public notices of voluntary product withdrawals that have been issued over the last year is unprecedented in Canada. These recalls and notices have resulted in a far greater visibility and awareness of product safety and quality issues.

Most employers with defined benefit ("DB") plans are looking to contain their pension costs. ccordingly, many are switching to defined contribution ("DC") plans in an effort to achieve more predictable funding costs.

In "Cascades", the "Commission des relations du travail" (the "Commission") determined that the concerted refusal to work overtime constitutes a slackening of work within the meaning of section 108 of the Quebec "Labour Code" (the "Code") and not a strike.

There are various means by which business organizations can protect innovation by preventing unfair use by competitors of the organization's innovations, while preserving the innovator's right to use.

On June 4, 2010, the Patent Appeal Board ("Board") determined that claims to a monoclonalantibody are enabled where the antigen is a novel polypeptide which has been fully characterized (for example by complete amino acid sequence).

Perhaps no current issue in Canadian labour and employment law provokes more discussion and divergent opinion than the issue of drug and alcohol testing.

As of January 1, 2010, many public sector organizations in Ontario must be compliant with the "Accessibility Standards for Customer Service", a regulation enacted under the "Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005".

The following article provides guidance as to when foreign licensed attorneys are permitted to represent clients before the Department of Homeland Security (hereafter referred to as “DHS”).

Travellers from visa waiver countries must first obtain pre-approval from the Department of Homeland Security by following the instructions on the Electronic System for Travel Authorization found at https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/esta.html.

On Friday, February 12, 2010, the Supreme Court of Canada released the long awaited decision in "Tercon Contractors Ltd. v. British Columbia (Transportation and Highways)".

On April 24, 2009, the Minister of Industry and Commerce, on behalf of the Government of Canada, tabled Bill C-27, being legislation to enact the "Electronic Commerce Protection Act" (the "ECPA").

The question of whether a liability insurer that had paid out an indemnity owing to the negligence of its insured could seek reimbursement of a portion of that indemnity from another insurer covering the same risk had in recent years been the subject of debate in Quebec law.

On September 23, the Ontario government released the “Ideas for the Future Act, 2008”, fulfilling a promise included in the 2008 Ontario Budget to provide a 10-year Ontario corporate tax holiday for new corporations that commercialize intellectual property in certain new growth areas developed in conjunction with educational institutions or research institutes.

On July 14, 2008, following up on a promise made on December 15, 2006, the Department of Finance released draft legislation to amend the Income Tax Act (Canada) (the "ITA") to facilitate the conversion of income trusts to public corporations (the "Proposals").

On September 18, 2009, the Competition Bureau published its final “Merger Review Process Guidelines”, which describe the Bureau's approach to Canada's new two-stage merger review process adopted following the March 2009 amendments to the “Competition Act”.

In the recent decision "Fonds d'assurance de la responsabilité professionnelle de l'Ordre des architectes du Québec c. Syndicat de Beaucours", the Quebec Court of Appeal handed down one of a very few Quebec rulings on "claims made" liability insurance policies.

On February 18, 2011, the Ontario Divisional Court (the "Court") released its decision in Independent Electricity System Operator v. Canadian Union of Skilled Workers and Labourers' International Union of North America et. al.