Canada has formally ratified the Patent Law Treaty

On July 30, Canada formally ratified the Patent Law Treaty.

The amendments to the Patent Act and the new Patent Rules will come into force on October 30, 2019. This updated legislative regime will permit Canada to implement the Patent Law Treaty.

The Patent Law Treaty harmonizes and streamlines patent administrative procedures among national intellectual property (IP) offices, and delivers key benefits for businesses:

• more efficient process to secure a filing date
• harmonized administrative procedures and formalities
• modernized patent legislative framework

This is the last of five IP treaties that Canada will implement, all in the course of less than one year, representing a significant modernization of our IP regime.

In addition to the Patent Law Treaty, Canada joined four other IP treaties administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization over the past year: the Madrid Protocol, the Singapore Treaty and the Nice Agreement for trademarks on June 17, 2019, as well as the Hague Agreement for industrial designs on November 5, 2018.

Joining these treaties will help Canadian businesses looking to enter or expand their presence in international markets and supports Canada's IP Strategy and its goal to help Canadian businesses, creators, entrepreneurs and innovators understand, protect and access IP.

Visit our website for information on the changes to the Patent Rules.