On January 27, 2014, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, David Anderson tabled five previously concluded intellectual property treaties in the House of Commons including the:
- Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks (the Madrid Protocol);
- Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks (the Singapore Treaty);
- Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks (the Nice Agreement);
- Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs; and
- Patent Law Treaty.
These treaties will have a significant impact on intellectual property rights holders in Canada. The Patent Law Treaty will harmonize and streamline formal procedures in respect of national and regional patent applications and patents by providing maximum sets of requirements which the Office of a Contracting Party may apply.
The ratification and implementation of the treaties relating to trade-marks, namely the Madrid Protocol, the Singapore Treaty and the Nice Agreement, has been long expected and their tabling reflects Canada’s commitment to respond to new business trends and to an increase in globalization by, among other things, providing trade-mark owners with access to a centralized and cost effective option facilitating the registration of trade-marks in over 90 countries/regions.
Osler will continue to monitor the implementation process and provide updates as the process unfolds.
For further information on the treaty process, please contact J. Bradley White for patent inquiries or Donna White for trade-mark inquiries.