The upcoming NAFTA negotiations are an opportunity for Canada
to better protect its national interests around intellectual
property.
Nearly a quarter-century ago, the United States, Canada and
Mexico concluded the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA),
implemented in 1994, and it included the first intellectual
property (IP) chapter in an international trade agreement, chapter
17. This chapter was negotiated against the backdrop of negotiation
of the World Trade Organization's Trade-Related Aspects of
Intellectual Property Rights Agreement (TRIPS), which has served as
the backbone for global intellectual property standards for over
two decades.
Since NAFTA and TRIPS, the United States has worked to commit
its trading partners to expand their IP protection beyond the TRIPS
requirements. The US achieved this through the Trans-Pacific
Partnership (TPP), committing Canada and other TPP members to abide
by numerous intellectual property treaties, codify
