The Government of Canada has modernized Canada's intellectual property (IP) regime by joining 5 international IP treaties, specifically with regard to industrial designs, trademarks and patents. The goal is to reduce the administrative burden and provide harmonized procedures for Canadian businesses. Positioning Canada as a global innovation centre is key to advancing our Innovation and Skills Plan. The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) is also modernizing the IP legal framework and office practices. These are aligned with Canada's efforts to develop and implement our IP Strategy to help ensure that its IP regime is modern and robust and that it supports Canadian innovation in the 21 st century.
Joining the treaties is a complex initiative with many components, including legislative, regulatory and information technology requirements.
We consulted broadly with stakeholders and interested parties to get their input throughout the process.
After the ratification of the Patent Law Treaty in October 2019, CIPO has now fully implemented all 5 treaties, which include the following:
Industrial designs and the Hague AgreementOn November 5, 2018 , Canada acceded to the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs (the Hague System) and implemented changes to significantly modernize Canada's industrial design regime.
The Hague System provides a mechanism for acquiring, maintaining and managing design rights in member countries and intergovernmental organizations through a single international application filed with the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). There are multiple countries and regional associations in the Hague System, including most of Canada's major trading partners, such as the United States, the European Union, South Korea and Japan.
Membership in the Hague Agreement provides key benefits for business:
With the accession to the Hague Agreement, Canada introduced a number of modernization measures to its industrial design regime that also have key benefits for business:
To facilitate Canada's accession to the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement and to modernize the industrial design regime, a number of amendments were made to the Industrial Design Act and Industrial Design Regulations , which came into force on November 5, 2018 .
CIPO has also revamped its Industrial Design Office Practice Manual, which sets out how it operationalizes the above-noted legislative and regulatory changes.
CIPO has actively engaged with key stakeholders (e.g. IP agents who are regular users of the Canadian industrial design system) about the changes necessary to join the Hague System throughout the regulatory development process.
Engagement activities have included the following:
CIPO plans to keep engaging with stakeholders on an ongoing basis.
On June 17, 2019, the Madrid Protocol, the Singapore Treaty and the Nice Agreement came into force in Canada.
The Madrid Protocol is an international registration system (the "Madrid System") that offers the possibility of obtaining protection for trademarks in a number of countries through a single international application filed with the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
The Singapore Treaty is a trademark law treaty that aims to make national trademark registration systems more user-friendly and to reduce business compliance costs for trademark owners.
The Nice Agreement governs an international system used to categorize goods and services for the purpose of registering trademarks. The Nice Classification system creates specific categories for goods and services that are harmonized across all member countries, making it easier to search for and compare different trademarks.
The Trademarks Branch and the Trademarks Opposition Board actively engaged with stakeholders (including a range of associations, IP agents and major trademark filers in Canada) about the changes necessary to join the Madrid Protocol, the Singapore Treaty and the Nice Agreement.
Engagement activities included the following:
CIPO plans to keep engaging with stakeholders on an ongoing basis.
On October 30, 2019, Canada officially ratified the Patent Law Treaty when the amendments to the Patent Act and the new Patent Rules came into force.
The Patent Law Treaty aims to harmonize and streamline patent administrative procedures among national IP offices. It addresses issues such as the provision of notification to avoid loss of rights, representation before the IP office and red-tape reduction.
The Patent Branch actively engaged with a wide range of stakeholders throughout the process. Key stakeholders who provided valuable feedback in consultations included the following:
CIPO plans to keep engaging with stakeholders on an ongoing basis.
