Now Coming in June 2019 – Changes to Canadian Trademark Law, Eh? (Part II)

The wait is over! The Canadian Privy Council Office recently announced that the long-anticipated changes to Canada’s trademark laws will officially go into effect June 17, 2019.

As detailed in our article “Changes to Canadian Trademark Law, Eh?”, the new Trademarks Act includes numerous significant revisions to the country’s trademark system. Highlights include the following:

• Canada will (finally!) become a party to the Madrid Protocol international filing system;

• Declarations of Use and registration fees will be eliminated;

• The Nice Classification system for goods and services will be implemented;

• Non-traditional marks (e.g., colors, three-dimensional shapes, sounds, scents, and textures) are now protectable;

• Applications may now be divisible during prosecution; and

• The registration term will be decreased from 15 years to 10.

These changes will provide enhanced protection to trademarks in Canada and more closely align Canada with other jurisdictions, enabling streamlined trademark filing and prosecution strategies on a global basis.

This article appeared in the November 2018 issue of MarkIt to Market. To view our past issues, as well as other firm newsletters, please click here.