(Bell's parent company, BCE Inc., now owns a 15-per-cent stake in The Globe.) The documents suggest the firm was still on retainer as Bell's lawyers when the firm alerted the telco in February that it planned to take on the patents case involving Fibe.ДЄt that time, Bereskin & Parr was working on eight active trademark files involving Bell and the telecom refused to waive conflicts in the case, arguing the firm's involvement in the patent suit would undermine Bell's interests, documents say. They also argue that 'Bell Canada has not identified to B&P any confidential information that creates prejudice in this action.'Д«ell, however, maintains that its relationship with Bereskin & Parr stretches back to 2004 when the firm did some work for the old Bell Globemedia, a division that previously included The Globe and Mail. These are mutually exclusive issues,' the plaintiffs say in separate court filings. 'There is no reason to delay the filing of the defence until after disposition of the motion to disqualify B&P. Details of the alleged conflict are scant, but documents filed in the case indicate that Bereskin & Parr did previous patent work for Bell that was 'unrelated' to the IPTV patent case. 'The Plaintiff's counsel, Bereskin & Parr LLP, are in a conflict of interest and must be removed as solicitor of record for MediaTube Corp.,' the telecoms argue in a notice of motion.ДЄlthough Bell has yet to file a formal motion to eject the firm from the case, it has provided written notice of its intention to do so over the coming days. They argue that Bell's tactics amount to stalling, which is creating further financial hardship for them due to the growing popularity of the IPTV services, which Bell markets as Fibe TV.

Their legal brinksmanship comes as the plaintiffs, which also includes another tech firm called NorthVu Inc., plan to ask a judge, as early as Monday, for a court order to ensure their lawsuit continues as a 'specially managed' proceeding, with the goal of having the case tried within two years. In doing so, the telcos are also requesting the court resolve their conflict motion before they are required to file a statement of defence in the patent-infringement case вЂ“ even though the deadline to do so was last Friday. The telecom companies say Bereskin & Parr LLP, which represents one of the plaintiffs, MediaTube Corp., should be kicked off the case due an alleged 'conflict of interest,' according to new court documents filed with the Federal Court in Toronto. Bell Canada and its sister firm, Bell Aliant Inc., are preparing to ask a federal court to remove a leading intellectual property law firm from a $350-million patent-infringement lawsuit that was launched against them over their new Internet protocol television services.

Mediatube canada