The date major reforms of the Canadian Trademarks Act
come into force has been the subject of much speculation over the
past five years. Prior to the publication of the Order in Council
2018-1329, the last rumours were that they would come into
effect in March 2019. This Order in Council established the reforms
will be effective June 17, 2019.
This date is a key element in defining the trademark strategy of
many businesses active in Canada. For example, the reform will
abolish declarations of use even for pending applications. Many
parties having pending applications were requesting extensions of
time until the coming into force of the reform because, in the
short to medium term, they had no use or only partial use of their
trademark in Canada. With this latest development, applicants who
have a final deadline to file a declaration of use prior to June
17, 2019, will not be in a position to secure a registration
without use. These applicants may wish to consider
