Upcoming Amendments to the Patent Rules, Industrial Design Regulations, and the Trademarks Regulations

The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) has just announced that it will be conducting a series of consultations on proposed regulatory amendments to the Trademarks Regulations, Industrial Design Regulations and Patent Rules.

The amendments are being proposed to bring Canada’s intellectual property (IP) legal framework in line with international standards. In particular, Canada is in the process of joining five international IP treaties: the Madrid Protocol, the Singapore Treaty, the Nice Agreement, the Hague Agreement, and the Patent Law Treaty.

Amendments to the Trademarks Act, the Industrial Design Act and Patent Act were previously amended to comply with the requirements of these treaties. In order to complete the changes to Canada’s IP legal framework, the accompanying Regulations and Rules must also be amended.

CIPO will be consulting with the IP legal community starting on June 19, 2017 for the Trademarks Regulations and the Industrial Design Regulations. Consultations regarding the Patent Rules are scheduled to start in early August 2017. The proposed amendments will be disclosed during this consultation period, and there will be an opportunity to ask questions and submit questions or comments.

Amending the IP Rules and Regulations is the final step in a major makeover of Canada’s IP legal framework that will bring us closer to the developing international standards. From an IP owner’s point of view, these changes will make it more efficient to obtain patent protection in Canada based on foreign originating applications, and similarly will make it more efficient for Canadians to obtain foreign patent protection based on Canadian originating applications.

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Author: Etienne de Villiers, Of Counsel