CETA Tracker: Significant Amendments to the Patent Act Affecting Pharmaceuticals Nearly in Force

Treaty/Act:  CETA/Bill C-30 (An Act to implement the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between Canada and the European Union and its Member States and to provide for certain other measures)

Date:  March 7, 2017 – Bill C-30 passes second reading in Senate and is referred to Senate's Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade

Major reforms to Canada's Patent Act are coming as the Canadian Parliament moves one step closer to ratifying the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). On March 7, 2017, Bill C-30 (the Act intended to implement CETA into Canadian law) passed its second reading in the Senate, placing it in the final stages of the legislative process. Recent media reports indicate the European Union's trade chief expects that Canada will ratify CETA within weeks.¹