On April 18, 2017, the ministère des Finances of Québec announced a public consultation on the rules enacted in An Act respecting the distribution of financial products and services to limit the ownership of damage insurance firms by financial institutions. This consultation’s objective is to (…)
Can computers learn and reason? If so, what are the limitations of the tasks that they can be given? These questions have been the subject of countless debate as far back as 1937, when Alan Turing published his work on computable numbers1. Many researchers have devoted themselves to developing (…)
The March 22, 2017 Budget of the Government of Canada, through its “Innovation and Skills Plan” (http://www.budget.gc.ca/2017/docs/plan/budget-2017-en.pdf) mentions that Canadian academic and research leadership in artificial intelligence will be translated into a more innovative economy and (…)
On December 19, 2016, the Alberta Court of Appeal allowed the appeal1 of the insurer which had excluded from its policy coverage the rebuilding costs associated with bringing the insured building up to by-law standards. The Court of Appeal unanimously maintained the exclusion for damages resulting (…)
Various jurisdictions provide exemptions to patent infringement based on research or non-commercial activities. Canada is no exception (pun intended) and provides both statutory and common law exemptions to patent infringement. Statutory Exemption The statutory exemption to infringement under (…)
On November 24th, 2016, the Quebec government has adopted new regulations regarding the public display of non-French trade-marks in Quebec. The new regulations may be summarized as follows: trade-marks do not have to be translated into French but French language must be sufficiently present in all (…)
Double patenting occurs when the same invention is claimed in more than one patent owned by the same entity. Double patenting is prohibited in most jurisdictions. However, there are unique aspects to double patenting under Canadian practice that may significantly influence patent prosecution (…)
Every day, and several times a day, we enter into contracts without knowing it or without considering and controlling their effects. This newsletter provides a brief and non-exhaustive summary to help you better understand, prepare for and monitor your contractual environment. Do you know that? (…)
The facts The client, Station Lands Ltd. (“Station”) retained the general contractor Ledcor Construction Ltd. (“Ledcor”) to build the Epcor tower in Edmonton. As is customary, Station and Ledcor purchased a builders’ risk all-risk property insurance to cover property damage which may occur in the (…)
In the field of telecommunications, it is not uncommon to see competing Internet service providers engage in advertising war campaigns in order to attract new customers, particularly in this highly competitive market due to the small number of competitors. Competitors are prepared to do anything to (…)
An increasing number of employers are looking at the possibility of creating investment vehicles to allow their employees to make investments in the employer corporation or a portfolio managed by the employer that will qualify for inclusion in, inter alia, registered retirement savings plans (RRSP), (…)
Last June 16, the Superior Court of Québec1 rendered a safeguard order in an injunction proceeding in favour of a health-care institution the purpose of which was to set conditions for the visits of the daughter of a user of the institution who was an incapable person lodged there, as well as her (…)
The regulation governing contracts of public bodies leaps into the digital age. The amendments, passed on April 13, 2016, and coming into force June 1, 2016, aim to clarify the rules pertaining to the results evaluation.1 Five key changes Tenders in electronic form are mandatory if so (…)