Canada is about to witness a shift in its trademark regulation
system as its amended Trademarks Act will be coming into force from
June 17th, 2019. Earlier, TM registrations were valid for a period
of 15 years. The amended Act has shortened the registration term to
10 years. The same change in term is also made with respect to
renewals.
The definition of trademarks has been broadened to client even
non-traditional marks, such as scent, taste and texture,
three-dimensional and moving images, and even holograms as
trademarks.
One of the most important changes that the Act introduces is
that 'proof of use' is no longer a mandatory requirement.
However, registrations will still be subject to cancellation for
non-use. While the current law requires applicants to declare
actual use of the mark in Canada, the new law does not have this
requirement. There is a possibility that this amendment may
encourage trademark squatters from blocking trademarks. Squatters
are
