Daily Alert

Updates

Here are several news items that may be of interest:

  • An Order in Council has indefinitely suspended implementation of the private right of action under CASL, Canada’s anti-spam legislation. The private right of action was scheduled to come into force on July 1, 2017.
  • CIPO has advised that it will beginning a series of consultations over the summer on proposed regulatory amendments for Industrial Design Regulations, Trade-marks Regulations, Patent Rules relating to implementation of the Hague Agreement, Madrid Protocol, Singapore Treaty, the Nice Agreement and the Patent Law Treaty.
  • Global Affairs Canada has announced consultation on the renegotiation and modernization of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The government invites submissions on a variety of topics including intellectual property.

CASL

The Order in Council (link) amends a previous Order in Council of 2013 (link) removing the coming into force date of sections 47 to 51 and 55 of Canada’s Anti-spam Law.

The statement from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada issued today (link) states in part:

Canadians deserve an effective law that protects them from spam and other electronic threats that lead to harassment, identity theft and fraud. At the same time, Canadian businesses, charities and non-profit groups should not have to bear the burden of unnecessary red tape and costs to comply with the legislation.

The Government supports a balanced approach that protects the interests of consumers while eliminating any unintended consequences for organizations that have legitimate reasons for communicating electronically with Canadians.

For that reason, the Government will ask a parliamentary committee to review the legislation, in keeping with the existing provisions of CASL.

Regulatory Amendments

CIPO’s announcement (link) regarding the upcoming consultation process will likely involve a number of important procedural and substantive changes to patents, trademarks and industrial designs in Canada.

  • June 19 to July 14 on the proposed Industrial Design Regulations
  • June 19 to July 21 on proposed Trade-marks Regulations
  • August 1 to September 8 on the proposed Patent Rules

See earlier posts on these changes:

(h/t Etienne)

NAFTA

Interested parties are invited to submit their views by July 18, 2017. The consultation, published in the Canada Gazette, Part 1 (link), states in part:

Given that the Agreement is over 23 years old, there are many clarifications and technical improvements that could be made in all trade areas covered by NAFTA, such as labour, the environment or culture. The Agreement would also benefit from the inclusion of new trade areas, such as electronic commerce, that are not currently covered, to ensure the Agreement is aligned with today’s economic realities. Canada is committed to upholding and supporting a vibrant and globally competitive North American manufacturing sector that provides stable, rewarding, and well-paying jobs for Canadians.