Trademarks Shake-up: Making Sense Of Recent Changes To Trademarks Practice

A series of amendments to the Trademarks Act and Regulations came into effect on April 1, 2025 that introduce significant changes to proceedings at the Trademarks Opposition Board and Federal Courts. These amendments are intended to improve the efficiency of contested proceedings, to discourage undesirable conduct and abusive enforcement of trademark rights, and provide a streamlined mechanism to remove invalid or inactive official marks.

A brief overview of the effects of the amendments are set out below:

Changes to Proceedings before the Trademarks Opposition Board

The Trademarks Act permits any person to commence proceedings challenging geographical indications or translations, trademark applications or trademark registrations, under sections 11.13, 38 and 45, respectively. For rightsholders, these proceedings not only threaten their intellectual property rights, but they can also be costly, time-consuming, and previously did not offer adequate