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18 March 2020PatentsEdward Pearcey

Canada prepares to adopt new IP legislation under USMCA

Canada has finally passed legislation implementing the United States of America, the United Mexican States, and Canada ( USMCA) free trade deal, which includes new IP provisions regarding patents and counterfeits.

The USMCA agreement and changes several Canadian IP regulations.

The deal, which replaces the North American Free Trade Agreement ( NAFTA), will see the Canadian government introduce a compensation procedure for delays in issuing a patent from the Canadian Intellectual Property Office, to be implemented within four and a half years of the treaty’s final ratification and entry into law.

The agreement will also see an author’s copyright extended to 70 years after death, an increase on the current 50 years. This needs to be implemented within two and half years of the USMCA entering law.

The signatories will also establish a Committee on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR Committee), composed of government representatives from each country, to help “exchange information, pertaining to IP rights matters, including how IP protection contributes to innovation, creativity, economic growth, and employment”.

The committee will also look at “approaches for reducing the infringement of IP rights, as well as effective strategies for removing the underlying incentives for infringement”.

Also, suspected counterfeit goods travelling through, but not destined for, Canada will become susceptible to detention and checks at the Canadian border, as all three countries “work towards strengthening border enforcement of intellectual property rights through the promotion of collaborative operations in customs and exchange of best practices”.

The provisions, contained within legislation entitled ‘Bill C-4’, were passed just before the suspension of the Canadian parliament in response to the COVID-19 crisis.

NAFTA, signed by President Bill Clinton and implemented in 1994, was at the time the largest free trade deal in the world and was in part a response to the trade competition the US faced from both China and the EU.

After a re-assessment and negotiation of the deal under President Trump, the agreement re-emerged under a new name, USMCA.

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