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ARTICLE · 01 JULY 2016

Privilege For Patent And Trademark Agents Now In Effect For Canada

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Effective June 24, 2016, amendments to the Patent Act and Trade-marks Act came into effect providing protection for confidential communications between clients and their patent agents and trademark agents..

CanadaIntellectual Property
Stephen Beney
Stephen Beney
R. Scott MacKendrick
R. Scott MacKendrick
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Effective June 24, 2016, amendments to the Patent Act and Trade-marks Act came into effect providing protection for confidential communications between clients and their patent agents and trademark agents made for the purpose of seeking or giving advice with respect to any matter relating to the protection of an invention or trademark, respectively (the implementing legislation can be found here). With the amendments, these communications with agents (whether or not they are also lawyers) are intended be protected from disclosure in court and administrative proceedings by a statutory privilege akin to solicitor-client privilege or, in civil law, to the professional secrecy of advocates and notaries.

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