In Canada, there is no clear precedent to hold a landlord liable as a non-participating intermediary for the sale of counterfeits by its tenants. This differs from the position in the United States, China, and Europe, where liability has been extended to non-participating landlords who have knowledge of the illegal activity. In Canada, if a landlord is directly involved in the sale of counterfeits and has sufficient control over the tenant, the Canadian courts [...]

Securing protection for your intellectual property in the South Pacific can often be both challenging and time-consuming. If registration is available (which is not always the case), the registration process varies from country to country and often involves a labyrinth of filing requirements, elderly legislation and "island time", where an outwardly straightforward process may take several months (even years) to complete. However, the Intellectual Property Office of Papua New Guinea ("IPOPNG") has recently unveiled [...]

In 2017, the JPO had been trying to institute a system of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) to force patent owners and prospective licensees to reach positive resolution when negotiations failed. However, the JPO realized that it should hold off on instituting its plans, at least for the time being. ADR seemed to be a way to remove barriers to business development. On further reflection, though, the JPO recognized that complex, modern-day products and services that [...]