Canadian Trademark Registration: Use Or Intent To Use No Longer Required

Under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the new trade agreement replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), each nation is bringing its intellectual property laws in line with the new intellectual property standards in the agreement. Recently, Mexico added a use requirement for trademark owners stipulating that a trademark must be used within three years of obtaining a registration or else owners risk losing their registration. However, on the opposite side of North America, Canada recently changed its trademark laws to the opposite position: commercial use or an intention to use is no longer required to obtain a Canadian trademark registration. In doing so, Canada joins China, Europe and many South American countries that have long operated without a use requirement to obtain a trademark registration.