On March 19, 2019, Canada formally acceded to three trademark treaties: the Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks, the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks, and the Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks (Nice Agreement).

The legislation implementing these treaties into Canadian law is set to come into force alongside these treaties on June 17, 2019.

On the same day, the federal Liberal government tabled their 2019 budget. In addition to continuing programs initiated in 2017 and 2018, such as the Canadian National Intellectual Property Strategy, the budget proposes to provide increased funds to Natural Resources Canada and the Strategic Innovation Fund. The funds for Natural Resources Canada are intended to be directed to investment in the bioeconomy sectors with an apparent emphasis on forestry products. The funds for the Strategic Innovation Fund are intended to be invested in developing cleaner processes within the oil and gas sectors such as reducing water use and improving wellsite remediation.

For more information about Canada’s accession to the trademark treaties, see here.

For more information about some of the changes in Canadian trademark law that will be coming into effect on June 17, 2019, see here.

For more information about the federal Liberal 2019 budget, see here.