What We’re Up To
- From November 15-18, 2022, our team is looking forward to attending the International Trademark Association (INTA) Leadership meeting in Miami, Florida. The Cassels IP team serves in leadership roles including:
- Mark Davis – Chair of the Trademark Enforcement Committee’s Task Force on Non-Use Cancellations
- Alison Hayman – Member of the Enforcement Committee, Co-existence Agreements Task Force
- Steven Kennedy – Co-Chair of the Brands & Innovation Committee’s Tech Monitoring Subcommittee
- Jennifer McKenzie – Member of the Unfair Practices Committee
- Stephen Selznick – Member of the Commercialization of Brands Committee, the COBC Licensing Sub-Committee, COBC Licensing Taxation Sub-Committee, and the INTA Panel of Trademark Mediators
- Christie Bates – Member of the Young Practitioners Committee
- On November 15, Sebastian Beck-Watt will be participating at the The Forum E-Series as an Intellectual Property Law panelist for a live Q&A.
- On December 14, Kassandra Shortt will moderate the IPIC webinar “Gemak & Trends in Summary Judgment in the Federal Courts.”
What We’ve Been Up To
- This past summer, Christie Bates presented “Know your Neighbor: Understanding the Differences in Trademark Law in Canada, Mexico, and the United States,” at a roundtable hosted by the International Trademark Association.
- Steven Kennedy spoke on three panels at the International Trademark Association’s Trademark Administrators and Practitioners Meeting, “IP in Wonderland,” on September 12, 2022, in Arlington, Virginia. Steven spoke on the following panels:
- “Avoiding the Rabbit Hole: Managing Large Scale Trademark Projects”
- “Spilling the Tea: Best Practices for Working Effectively with Outside Counsel and In-House Clients”
- “Advice from Caterpillars: Guidance on Career Development for Young Practitioners”
- Mark Davis and Kassandra Shortt attended the AIPPI World Congress in San Francisco, California, on September 10-13, 2022. It was a great opportunity to connect with many of our international colleagues.
- In late September, Jessica Zagar and Jennifer McKenzie participated in the 2022 Annual Intellectual Property Institute Conference in Whistler, BC. At the event, Jessica presented “Are the Robots Taking Over? A Debate That AI Be Considered a Creator/Investor” and spoke on “Beyond Trademarks: Branding from a Broader Perspective.”
- Mark Davis and Marco Ciarlariello spoke at the 25th Annual Fraud and Anti-Counterfeiting Conference on October 13, 2022.
- Mark spoke on recent developments in Canadian anti-counterfeiting law, including statistics that show a significant (70%) increase in detentions by Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) acting on Requests for Assistance from IP rights owners and that 80% of cases result in expeditious out-of-court settlements and the destruction of the detained goods. If you are interested in recording your IP rights with CBSA, please let us know.
- Marco explained non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and how they can be used by businesses to leverage and protect value. We would be happy to answer any questions you have relating to this revolutionary technology and the legal implications for your business.
- On October 25, 2022, Marco Ciarlariello and Jessica Zagar presented the Keynote Address at the Music Tech Summit 2022, “Music in the Metaverse: Legal and Business Implication in Web3.”
- From October 30 to November 4, Casey Chisick and Peter Snell attended the International Bar Association Annual Meeting in Miami, Florida, where Peter participated in the “Hot Topics in International Commerce, Trade, Franchising and Product Law” roundtable discussion as part of the International Franchise and Distribution Committee Program.
- Eric Mayzel co-chaired a panel titled “Economics in Copyright,” presented by the Toronto and Ottawa Chapters of the Copyright Society, held on November 10, 2022.
Cassels Community
- Cassels is excited to announce the 2022 recipients of its Black-Owned Small Business Grant: Deress Asghedom of Vaster, Rans Brempong of WCT Hoops, Tobias Brown of Tommie’s Jerk, Steve Sijenyi of LIT604, and Chanelle Tye of Chanelle Tye Equity & Inclusion. Read more here.
- On Wednesday, August 2, 2022, the Cassels IP team sponsored a meal through Lawyers Feed the Hungry. Lawyers Feed the Hungry is an amazing program that does excellent work. We were fortunate enough to sponsor 340 guests.
- As part of a firm retreat, members of the Cassels team spent time building a community playground and painting murals in support of Family Promise of Greater Phoenix, a charitable organization supporting families facing homelessness.