Double Trouble: Avoiding Pitfalls In Canadian Pharmaceutical Patent Practice

Over the past several years, the environment for pharmaceutical patents in Canada has improved significantly. As was widely reported at the time, the Supreme Court of Canada abolished the promise doctrine in 2017 (see articles here and here). Last year, the federal government enacted legislation to provide up to two years of patent term extension for patents covering certain medicines. Canada also has the benefit of strong linkage regulations which require a generic company to address certain patents protecting a medicine before regulatory approval. While things are looking up for pharmaceutical patentees in Canada, there are still a couple of pitfalls to watch out for in Canadian patent practice.