Proposed Industrial Design Regulations Released For Public Consultation

On December 16, 2014, Bill C-43, Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 2, received Royal Assent.  Bill C-43 is an omnibus bill which implements many provisions that were tabled in the 2014 federal budget, including amendments to the Industrial Design Act in order to bring it in line with the Hague Agreement. The Canadian government signed the Hague Agreement governing the international registration of industrial designs in an effort to align the practices of the Canadian Industrial Design Office with those of other industrial partners and to simplify the process of securing design rights, and reduce costs to industry. To date, 66 parties have signed the Hague Agreement including the United States, the European Union, Japan and the Republic of Korea.