In late April 2018, Canada's Federal Government announced
the launch of a new Intellectual Property Strategy designed to
improve awareness of IP by Canadian businesses, and encourage
creators, entrepreneurs and innovators to participate more actively
in the IP system. The strategy is partly in response to relatively
low trademark, patent and other IP filings by Canadian businesses
compared to many other trading partners. A major focus is on
educating Canadian businesses of the benefits of addressing IP
rights early in the development of a business strategy, and
proactively taking steps to protect IP in Canada and abroad.
The announcement contains several proposals for legislative
reform, including two specific issues relating to trademarks.
First, the Government has promised new opposition and invalidation
grounds to deal with trademark squatting. Second, the Government
proposes legislation requiring use to enforce a trademark
registration within three years of
