The federal government has announced that recent amendments to the Trademarks Act and the Trademarks Regulations (discussed previously here) will come into force on 1 April 2025.

Significant changes include:

• a requirement to show use in order to enforce a trademark registration within the first three years after registration, unless special circumstances exist to excuse the absence of use;
• a mechanism to remove official marks that are owned by entities that no longer exist or are not public authorities;
• the ability of the Registrar to award costs in opposition, section 45 and objection proceedings;
• the ability of parties to request confidentiality orders in opposition, section 45 and objection proceedings;
• the ability of the Registrar to order case management in opposition, section 45 and objection proceedings; and
• the removal of the automatic right to file additional evidence in appeals of the Registrar’s decisions at the Federal Court.

The full list of amendments to the Trademarks Regulations may be found here.