Canada's New "Use-less" Trademarks Act

The regulations affecting trademarks weren't fully in effect until 2025. More than a year later, the number of complaints against businesses has never been higher.

Intellectual property (IP) can add significant value to a business and developing a strong IP portfolio requires investment of both time and resources.

In late 2024, two important amendments to the Copyright Act—Bills C-244 and C-294—received royal assent, giving individuals and businesses more freedom to bypass Technological Protection Measures...

Are you ready for changes to the Charter of the French Language ("Charter") that will come into force on June 1, 2025? Bill 96 was enacted on June 1, 2022, with its various provisions taking effect...

The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada has launched a landmark Federal Court claim against AI music platform Suno, alleging systematic copyright infringement on a massive scale. As Canadian courts prepare to address whether AI platforms can infringe existing copyrights and whether AI-generated works merit protection, these cases will establish critical precedents for how generative AI intersects with intellectual property law across all industries.

In Ontario, business owners typically consider franchising versus licensing as they plan to grow their company. Both methods promote growth through the resources of a third party, but they work in dramatically different ways.

Canada's intellectual property landscape has undergone significant transformation with the April 2025 trademark amendments, March 2026 CIPO patent guidance on software and AI, and evolving trade secret protections.

On July 17, 2024, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) launched a new electronic system and portal, MyCIPO Patents, as part of its Next Generation Patents initiative.

Before using a trademark in Canada or applying to register a trademark, it is highly recommended to instruct a trademark agent to conduct an availability search on the Canadian Register...

CanLII, Canada's free legal database, and Caseway, an AI legal research platform, have reportedly reached a settlement in their copyright dispute over the use of legal case data for artificial intelligence training purposes. The resolution addresses concerns about unauthorized use of publicly available legal materials and the boundaries of AI development in the legal technology sector.

Brand and influencer collaborations are a key component in marketing products and services, as highlighted in our article on Like & Follow! What to know when #advertising with #influencers.

Health Canada issued revised guidance on notifying Health Canada of foreign actions, effective October 1, 2026. The revised guidance clarifies the requirements to notify Health Canada of certain foreign regulatory actions specified in subsection C.01.050(2) of the Food and Drug Regulations in the specified foreign jurisdictions, which involve a serious risk of injury to human health and are relevant to the safety of the drug.

Health Canada has secured a permanent injunction against Canlab Research, a Quebec-based online retailer, preventing the company from manufacturing, distributing, or selling unauthorized injectable peptides in Canada. This enforcement action follows years of regulatory warnings and provisional court orders aimed at stopping the illegal sale of peptide drugs promoted with unproven health claims for anti-aging, weight loss, and athletic performance.

Health Canada has announced significant regulatory changes for medical device establishment licensing, set to take effect in December 2026. These Phase II amendments aim to streamline requirements...

In Gebien v Apotex Inc, 2026 ONSC 5428, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice granted a motion under section 27.1 of the Class Proceedings Act, 1992, approving a $29.3 million settlement against three Defendants: Purdue Canada, Valeant and Mylan.

On July 17, 2024, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) launched a new electronic system and portal, MyCIPO Patents, as part of its Next Generation Patents initiative.

Health Canada is not currently meeting its performance standards for the review of some generic drug submissions. On September 1, 2026, Health Canada launched a new webpage, Improving how we review generic drugs, and released three notices on proposed actions to address the backlog of generic drug submissions under review.

On July 16, 2025, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) announced new practices related to trademark examination and the acceptance of recommendations for pre-approved goods and services.

COLD-FX is a top-selling natural health product in Canada, with sales topping nearly $120-million as recently as 2011, according to a November 15, 2015 Globe and Mail article, "Why COLD-FX is too good to be true".

As we previously reported, Health Canada consulted on the framework for clinical trials, including on the new Clinical Trials Regulations and draft and updated guidance documents. Health Canada has now published a What we heard overview of the results of the consultation.