The Canadian Competition Bureau Releases Revised Intellectual Property Enforcement Guidelines

As previously reported, the Competition Bureau ("Bureau") released a revised version of its Intellectual Property Enforcement Guidelines ("IPEGs") on March 31, 2016, following an extensive public consultation process held in 2015 based on previous drafts released in 2014 and 2015.  

The IPEGs describe the Bureau's approach to conducting investigations under the Competition Act ("Act") in respect of anti-competitive activities that relate to intellectual property.  The primary revisions to the 2016 revised IPEGs (which represent the Bureau's first major update since the IPEGs original release in 2000) include clarification on the Bureau's position on patent settlements, product switching, the conduct of patent assertion entities, and conduct involving standard essential patent owners.