In the Know

In the Know is a quarterly publication written by our lawyers on current franchising news and recent legal developments.

View pdfs: Summer 2012, Winter 2012, Fall 2011, Winter 2011, Summer 2010, Fall 2009, Spring 2009, Winter 2009, Fall 2008

Recent Blog Posts

The need for nuanced employment non-competition covenants

Stuart Freen

Published March 20, 2012

Businesses in competitive industries that rely on customer lists or intellectual property may want to take a second look at the non-competition agreements which they ask their employees to sign. In the recent case of Mason v. Chem-Trend Limited Partnership, the Ontario Court of Appeal held that a non-competition clause was completely unenforceable for the reason that it was too strong a restriction on competition.

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Class action against TDL Group (Tim Hortons) dismissed

Allan D.J. Dick

Published March 14, 2012

In a lengthy (163 page) decision, Justice Strathy of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice recently ruled against two franchisees of the Tim Hortons franchise system in their action for damages against their franchisor and related entity, which they sought to have certified as a class proceeding.

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Resolving a dispute? Consider summary judgment

Andy Seretis

Published March 9, 2012

When the Rules of Civil Procedure were amended effective January 1, 2010, the intent was to make the litigation system more accessible and affordable for Ontarians. One mechanism for doing so was to amend rule 20 (summary judgment) to make summary judgment motions a more appealing forum to resolve disputes, rather than incurring the time and expense of a full trial.

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Trade-mark update: What you need to know about your trade-marks

John Yiokaris

Published March 7, 2012

The Supreme Court of Canada recently explained many of the basic principles of trade-mark protection and enforcement in its decision in Masterpiece Inc. v. Alavida Lifestyles Inc. In this decision, the Supreme Court also set out much needed clarification on several significant aspects of the process of determining the likelihood of confusion between trade-marks.

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Can you keep a secret? Individuals and private organizations might just have to, says the Ontario Court of Appeal

Christine Jackson

Published March 2, 2012

The range of an organization’s legal obligations with respect to maintaining the privacy of personal information just got wider according to a recent decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal. The decision is the first in Ontario to recognize the right to sue for invasion of privacy and may result in costly consequences for organizations that use personal information in a way that invades privacy.

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