In Low v. Pfizer Canada Inc. the British Columbia Court of Appeal accepted Pfizer’s argument that the Canadian patent regulatory regime does not provide the basis for a civil action by consumers based on alleged breaches of the patent regime. The Court found, in relation to a claim pertaining to Pfizer’s Viagra, that the patent regime conferred no rights on consumers, nor did the regime evince and intention to allow consumers to make claims. The Court accepted that where Parliament has comprehensively legislated in a particular area, as it has in respect to patents, it was reasonable to infer that it did not intend recovery to extend beyond those embodied in the regime. As a result, Mr. Low’s claim, which was based on the patent regime, was dismissed.
Consumer claims under Canada’s patent regime foreclosed
