By Grant W. C. Tisdall, James E. Longwell & Kristen Kilroy
The Government of Canada introduced for first reading in Parliament numerous amendments to intellectual property and other statutes on October 23, 2014. Bill C-43, an omnibus budget bill, amends Canada’s Patent Act to conform to the Patent Law Treaty (“PLT”) and the Industrial Design Act to conform to the Geneva (1999) Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs.
In keeping with undertakings made in the context of a comprehensive economic and trade agreement (“CETA”) previously negotiated and signed with Europe, Canada agreed to amend its copyright, trademark, patent and design laws to adhere to numerous international treaties. Earlier amendments to the Trade-marks Act were passed quickly by Parliament. Though many of the new proposed changes help Canada to meet its obligations with little impact, some changes go beyond those obligations and will have substantial impact on Canadian practice.
Click here to read more about design changes.
Click here to read more about patent changes.
Reproduced with permission from Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP
Occasional Contributors
