After consultation with members of the intellectual property bar, the Federal Court announced in June of last year that it would launch a pilot project involving the creation of specialized Chambers of the Court.
In a positive development for intellectual property practitioners in Canada, the Federal Court of Canada has established an specialized Chambers of the Court pilot program. In a Notice to the Parties and the Profession dated March 3, 2023, the Chief Justice announced the creation of a specialized Intellectual Property and Competition Chambers.
As a result of this development, judges with experience in IP will hear IP cases. This is a similar approach to that used in the English High Court.
The Chambers will be used for assignment of judges to:
- motions to be heard on a special sitting
- case management of class actions
- hearings on the merits
The Judges assigned to the Intellectual Property and Competition Chambers are:
- Chief Justice Crampton
- Associate Chief Justice Gagné
- Justice O’Reilly
- Justice Zinn
- Justice Manson
- Justice Roy
- Justice McVeigh
- Justice St-Louis
- Justice Brown
- Justice Fothergill
- Justice Gascon
- Justice Southcott
- Justice McDonald
- Justice Lafrenière
- Justice Pentney
- Justice Grammond
- Justice Walker
- Justice McHaffie
- Justice Fuhrer
- Justice Pallotta
- Justice Little
- Justice Furlanetto
- Justice Aylen
- Justice Tsimberis
For a copy of the Notice to the Parties and the Profession, see here.