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”.
Source: World IP Review
