January 1, 2024, brought numerous hangovers along with an unprecedented amount of media attention to intellectual property law. That is because, as of the new year, one of the most famous cartoon characters in history – Mickey Mouse – was let loose from the magic kingdom. Freed from the shackles of copyright, Walt Disney’s iconic …
Double Patenting in Canada
Similar to other jurisdictions, a patent in Canada is granted for one invention only. Accordingly, in instances where multiple inventions are claimed in a single application, it may be necessary to parse out the inventions and protect them by filing divisional applications. However, care must be taken to avoid potential double patenting issues. The Supreme …
Patenting with Artificial Inventors
Guidance on using AI to Invent Due to the quick rise of artificial intelligence (AI), most (if not all) of the laws relating to the US patent system were not written with AI in mind. Court precedent and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) guidelines have taken the place of written law to …