Bill C-56, the Combating Counterfeit Products Act, was introduced today with amendments to the Copyright Act and Trade-marks Act, to among other things, allow the Canada Border Services Agency to detain suspected shipments and act on requests from rights holders. It will also “expand the scope of what can be registered as a trade-mark, allow the Registrar of Trade-marks to correct errors that appear in the trade-mark register, and streamline and modernize the trade-mark application and opposition process.”
The Federal Court has issued a revised Notice to the Profession on electronic service and filing of documents. Starting on March 1, 2013, the Federal Court will be using its own system for electronic filing, replacing the LexisNexis system used since 2009.
Amendments have been made to the Federal Courts Rules relating to scheduling of general sittings, format of documents, notices of appearances in applications, increasing minimum lead time to file motion materials, and other “miscellaneous” amendments.
Industry Canada has published proposed Electronic Commerce Protection Regulations in Part I of the Canada Gazette for consultation. The regulations follow an earlier round of consultations in 2011 and the CRTC’s regulations and guidelines for Canada’s anti-spam legislation.
The European Parliament has passed the EU unitary patent rules. The three packages passed today relate to the unitary patent, the language regime and the unified patent court. The new rules come into force on January 1, 2014 or after thirteen contracting states ratify it, provided that UK, France and Germany are among them.
New rules on procedure and practice before the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board were published in the Canada Gazette today to codify existing procedures.
The deadline for applying for the Canadian Patent Agent Exam is November 30, 2012. This is likely the last year for the patent agent exam under the current rules before new regulations applicable to the patent and trade-mark agent exams come into force.
A subcommittee of the Federal Courts Rules Committee has issued its report on a review of the rules. Some recommendations include revising Rule 3 to focus on resolution rather than ‘determination’, introducing ‘proportionality’ to the Rules, increasing available cost awards and formalizing Practice Notices.
Most of the amendments to the Copyright Act came into force today with publication in the Canada Gazette. Several sections, including those relating to notice-and-notice provisions for ISPs, are delayed for further regulations and the coming into force of treaties. Continue reading Copyright Act Amendments Enter Force→