DLA Piper Canada successfully represents Canadian Energy Services in patent ownership attack

DLA Piper (Canada) LLP successfully represented its client, Canadian Energy Services (CES) at the Alberta Court of Appeal, where the attack on CES’s ownership of a patent to certain downhole antiaccretion technology was dismissed.

In Secure Energy Services Inc. v Canadian Energy Services Inc., 2022 ABCA 200, a majority of the court upheld the findings of the chambers judge that the allegations made by Secure Energy Services regarding ownership of the patent were made outside the time periods permitted by the Alberta Limitations Act as well as foreclosed by a contractual release made between the parties.

Justice Crighton on behalf of the majority stated:

"As stated, it is uncontested that the provincial courts have concurrent jurisdiction to hear disputes over patent infringement cases. Section 12 of the Limitations Act is a conflict of laws section which states that the limitations law of Alberta applies to any proceeding commenced in Alberta in which a claimant seeks a remedial order."

DLA Piper’s team of Alan Macek, Heather Treacy, Bentley Gaikis and Stephanie Kolla is representing CES in both Canada’s Federal Court and in the Alberta courts to advance CES’s claims of patent infringement against Secure Energy Services.

DLA Piper (Canada) LLP’s IP litigation team represents clients in all types of intellectual property disputes with a particular focus on patent disputes. As part of a global law firm, the Canadian Intellectual Property and Technology Group belongs to one of the largest groups of IP lawyers in the world, offering international reach on a full range of intellectual property law, privacy, and technology law services for leading businesses worldwide.