New look for trade and trademarks in Canada
There is significant change on the horizon for Canada’s IP system. One development that will have a big impact on the patenting framework is the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), a free trade deal between Canada and the EU which aims to cut tariffs on exports between the two regions.
According to John Norman, partner at Gowling WLG, CETA aims to lower tariffs by 98% so that only 2% of goods exported between Canada and the EU will have tariffs associated with them.
“The hope is that both regions will have to level the playing field so that goods on both sides of the equation get equal protection.”
Chapter 22 of CETA addresses IP and affects two forms of it in major ways, namely trademarks and patents.
Nancy Pei, partner at Smart & Biggar/Fetherstonhaugh in Toronto, says: “With respect to trademarks, Canada will be required to make reasonable efforts to comply with the Singapore Treaty and accede to the Madrid Protocol.”
She explains that following the 2014 amendments to the Trade-marks Act, Canada is already on its way to meeting these requirements for the two treaties.
Pei adds: “CETA also includes numerous provisions pertaining to geographical indications (GIs) which will result in their expanded protection in Canada beyond just wine and spirits to agricultural products and food.”
Big changes for big pharma
Although the impact of CETA will be felt in multiple areas, Pei says that the pharmaceutical industry will be affected the most, as there are significant changes that impact the term of patent protection and procedural rights of pharmaceutical patentees.
Looking at the industry, Norman says there will be three main changes.
“Currently for innovative drugs, if you get approval in Canada, you can list patents against a register. That means if a generic manufacturer wants to copy your clinical trial data from the market, they have to address those patents on the register,” says Norman.
He explains that in Canada, summary proceedings are being used to determine whether a generic can get market approval.
