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Is password sharing circumvention? Blacklock’s Reporter copyright saga continues on appeal
The FCA overturned a lower court decision that declared sharing of passwords by Parks Canada was fair dealing that did not constitute circumvention of TPMs. The scope of fair dealing and whether password sharing and paywalls constitute TPMs are now re-opened as live legal questions.
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Federal Court strikes down proposed class action against generic pharmaceutical manufacturers for alleged industry-wide conspiracy
The Federal Court of Canada in Eaton v Teva Canada Ltd et al, 2026 FC 239 refused to certify a proposed class action claiming over $5 billion against more than 80 generic pharmaceutical companies for an alleged conspiracy to fix generic drug prices and allocate in the market in violation of the Competition Act.
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Federal Court sets threshold for filing new evidence on appeal of Trademark Opposition Board proceedings
The Federal Court has clarified when parties can file new evidence on appeal from TMOB decisions under the amended Trademarks Act. Leave will depend on factors such as relevance, materiality, delay, and prejudice. The Court departed from the stricter Palmer test, noting that statutory appeals from administrative tribunals are more flexible, though whether evidence could have been before the TMOB remains important. Applicants should no longer assume that new evidence is automatically permitted on appeal.
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AI Litigation in Canada: What to Watch for in 2026
Watch for these three developments in AI law in 2026: (1) the ongoing OpenAI v. Canadian Media Companies lawsuit which could set a precedent for AI copyright ownership; (2) the DABUS appeal, which could answer whether GenAI can be an “inventor” of a patent, and (3) the Suryast copyright registration battle, which could set out whether AI art can be copyrighted.