The Trade-marks Office has proposed significant amendments to
the Trade-marks Regulations
("Regulations") as shown in the following
link:
http://www.smart-biggar.ca/files/CIPO_Amendments.pdf.
Typically, regulations are procedural rules intended to
implement a law, which in this case is the Trade-marks
Act. Regulations do not often substantively affect the law.
However, in this case, the proposed amendments to the
Regulations will have a substantive impact beyond purely
procedural changes.
Some of the more significant changes are summarized below.
- Non-traditional marks. Historically, the
Trade-marks Office has refused applications to register sound
marks. The proposed amendments explicitly allow for the filing of
applications to register sound marks as well as holograms and
motion marks. This is a significant change.
