The Alberta Court of Appeal has clarified the applicable limitation period for patent infringement claims commenced in Alberta courts in its recent decision of JL Energy Transportation Inc. v. Alliance Pipeline Limited Partnership, 2025 ABCA 26.

In this case, the Court of King’s Bench had applied a two-year provincial limitation period to the action and dismissed the case on a summary basis. However, the Court of Appeal held that the six-year limitation period under Section 55.01 of the Patent Act applied to patent infringement claims, regardless of whether the case is brought in provincial or federal court. This decision overturned an earlier 2024 Alberta Court of Appeal decision that had applied a two-year provincial statutory limitation period in such cases.

The Court of Appeal held that the Alberta Limitations Act did not apply to causes of action created under federal legislation and which had their own limitation period. Also, the Court of Appeal found that applying different limitation periods based on where an action was brought would be contrary to legislative intent.

As a result, the Court of Appeal allowed the appeal and permitted the action to proceed.

The full case can be found here.