Major Changes To Canada's Trademark Laws—What Every Business Needs To Know

The Canadian government recently introduced a Bill which contained the most significant changes to Canada's trademark laws in modern history. Due to the fact that the revisions were contained in an omnibus Budget Implementation Bill (Bill C-31, Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 1), they were introduced without consultation and passed despite serious concerns from intellectual property lawyers and businesses over their potential impact. The Bill received Royal Assent on June 19, 2014, and is now the law in Canada. The specific amendments to the Trademarks Act that will be discussed in this article are not yet in force, but are expected to be made effective in the fall of 2014, as soon as the necessary regulations are drafted. Once these regulations are in place, the landscape of Canadian trademark law will be changed dramatically.