Bill C-19, “An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on April 7, 2022 and other measures” includes
- measures directed to the term of copyright in Division 16 including “6. Except as otherwise expressly provided by this Act, the term for which copyright subsists is the life of the author, the remainder of the calendar year in which the author dies, and a period of 70 years following the end of that calendar year”;
- changes to the College of Patent Agents and Trademark Agents Act in Division 17; and
- replaces the term “prothonotary” with “associate judge” in Division 22.
Earlier this week, Justice Sylvie E. Roussel, a Judge of the Federal Court was appointed to the Federal Court of Appeal. Appointments were also made this week to the courts of Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia and Québec.
Continue reading Appointment →
Health Canada announced this afternoon, “…Health Canada will be moving forward with the implementation of the new basket of comparator countries and reduced reporting requirements for those medicines at lowest risk of excessive pricing. These [Amendments to the Patented Medicines Regulations] will come-into-force on July 1, 2022. The Government will not proceed with the Amendments related to the new price regulatory factors, nor with the requirements to file information net of all price adjustments.” Continue reading PMPRB →
The election for the patent and trademark agent representatives on the College of Patent Agents and Trademark Agents’ Board of Directors closes at 5pm ET on April 14. Patent and trademarks agents received voting details by email earlier this week. Once fully operational the Board will consist of five appointed and four elected directors.
The government released its Budget 2022 that includes some IP related provisions:
- “amendments to the Copyright Act to extend the general term of copyright protection from 50 to 70 years after the life of the author”;
- “legislative amendments to the College of Patent Agents and Trademark Agents Act to better enable directors of the College to prioritize the public interest”;
- “Review of Tax Support to R&D and Intellectual Property” including SR&ED and a patent box regime;
- “$750 million over six years, starting in 2022-23, to support the further growth and development of Canada’s Global Innovation Clusters”; and
- funding for “CanExport program to help Canadian businesses secure their intellectual property in foreign markets”, expand use of ExploreIP, Canada’s intellectual property marketplace” and “expand the Intellectual Property Legal Clinics Program”.
Earlier today, the government introduced Bill C-18 “An Act respecting online communications platforms that make news content available to persons in Canada” with the stated purpose “to regulate digital news intermediaries with a view to enhancing fairness in the Canadian digital news marketplace and contributing to its sustainability, including the sustainability of independent local news businesses.” and includes a section on implications of copyright.
CIPO has opened a consultation on proposed fee increases until April 29th. “Based on current projections, CIPO is expected to run out of authority to spend by September 2024. … To address this structural deficit, CIPO is proposing to adjust most of its fees by 25%…”
Continue reading CIPO →
Canadian Intellectual Property