NOV Downhole Eurasia Limited v. TLL Oil Field Consulting, 2015 FCA 106, (Nadon, Dawson, Boivin JJ.A.)
April 23, 2015
Christopher J. Kvas and William D. Regan (Appellants)
Bruce W. Stratton and Nikolas S. Purcell (Respondents)
The appeal was dismissed with costs, as the Federal Court of Appeal was not convinced that it ought to interfere with the lower Court’s ruling (2014 FC 889) to set aside Prothonotary Milczynski’s decision to strike paragraphs 25 to 27 and the words “and/or void” in paragraph 31 of the Respondents’ Amended Statement of Defence and Counterclaim.
The lower Court held that carefully drafted pleadings may contain allegations grounded in subsection 53(1) of the Patent Act so long as they are not intended to construe the claims. Further, it remains a live issue whether section 53 of the Patent Act may void the entire patent due to steps taken in the application process, as the Prothonotary erred in finding that it was plain and obvious that the Defence had no chance of success.
By: Katie L. Wei, Clancy P.C. + Brion Raffoul