Publications
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COVID-19: Anticipating Capital Gains, Wealth, Gift and Inheritance Taxes
The deficits being generated by the emergency measures that the federal and provincial governments have implemented since March 2020 are a reminder of the magnitude of our governments’ pre-crisis deficits. This situation will inevitably lead to a greater tax burden for businesses and individuals at (…)
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Product advertising in the time of COVID-19: Health Canada and the Competition Bureau are on the lookout for misleading claims
It’s been more than a year since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and many companies are attempting to market products intended to help consumers deal with the risks associated with COVID-19. Some of the most common examples of such products include face masks, testing devices, hand sanitizers, and (…)
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Payment to non-residents of Canada: How can the Multilateral Instrument (MLI) be applied?
The internationalization of trade has led to an increase in payments made by Canadian companies to non-residents of Canada, which are most of the time subject to Canadian withholding taxes. Canadian payers must ensure that they withhold the correct percentage of Canadian tax on such payments, as (…)
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The Doctrine of File Wrapper Estoppel in Canada: The Court of Appeal Hands Down its Decision
In December 2018, section 53.1 was added to the Patent Act (the “Act”) allowing reference to be made to communications exchanged with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (“CIPO”) during the prosecution of an application with respect “[...]to the construction of a claim.” This concept is more (…)
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Artificial intelligence soon to be regulated in Canada?
For the time being, there are no specific laws governing the use of artificial intelligence in Canada. Certainly, the laws on the use of personal information and those that prohibit discrimination still apply, no matter if the technologies involved are so-called artificial intelligence technologies (…)
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Studios and designers: Are you sure that you own the intellectual property rights to your video games?
The year 2020 will have been difficult for the vast majority of industries, and in particular for the arts, entertainment and recreation industry. The video game industry, however, is growing in leaps and bounds. For example, Nintendo and PlayStation have each set record sales for their games (…)
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Work, Lockdown and Curfew: Answers to Your Questions
In order to reduce community transmission and preserve everyone’s safety and that of our healthcare system, the government requires everyone to make extra efforts, both in their private lives and at work. The closure of retail businesses, save for some exceptions, is maintained, the lockdown to (…)
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The tax system to the rescue of print media
Canadian newspapers’ loss of advertising revenues to the hands of internet giants over the past several years has jeopardized the very existence of many such newspapers. In 2018, our governments announced several advantageous tax measures in order to ensure the survival of independent print media. (…)
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Ho-Ho Holiday Themed Patents
At Lavery, we spend a lot of time searching patent databases on behalf of our clients. Occasionally, we come across certain patents/applications whose cleverness and creativity make a lasting impression. At this time of year, our attention is naturally drawn to those that are holiday themed. And (…)
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Insurer's Duty to Defend: Bill 82 Opens the Door to Possible Limitations
On December 11, 2020, the Minister of Finance, Éric Girard, introduced and tabled Bill 82 entitled An Act respecting mainly the implementation of certain provisions of the Budget Speech of 10 March 2020 (hereinafter the “Bill”) before the National Assembly. The Bill opens the door to possible (…)
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The Court of Appeal Adds a Few More Shades to Canada’s Grey Market
In Canada, as elsewhere in the world, intellectual property owners have made numerous attempts to control their distribution channels through trademark law, copyright law, or exclusive contracts, without much success. However, in a recent decision (Costco Wholesale Canada Ltd. c. Simms Sigal & (…)
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Use of patents in artificial intelligence: What does the new CIPO report say?
Artificial intelligence is one of the areas of technology where there is currently the most research and development in Canada. To preserve Canada's advantageous position in this area, it is important to consider all forms of intellectual property protection that may apply. Although copyright has (…)
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Teleworking: What are the allowable expenses for employees and tax impacts for employers?
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed Canadian workplaces. For many organizations, the pandemic and its containment measures have fast-tracked the shift to teleworking. In this context, the Canada Revenue Agency (the “CRA”) and the Agence du Revenu du Québec (the“ARQ”) have published administrative (…)