On May 16, 2017, Bill C-30, the proposed federal legislation to implement Canada’s rights and commitments under the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), received Royal Assent by the Governor General. Prior to receiving Royal Assent, the Senate of Canada completed the Third Reading of Bill C-30 and passed the bill on May 11, 2017 without any amendments.
Bill C-30 will impact trademark law and pharmaceutical patent law, among other things, in Canada. Specifically, as previously reported in the E-TIPS® newsletter, Bill C-30 expands protections for geographical indications (GIs) to “agricultural products” and “food” and creates a separate approach for assessing confusion between a trade-mark and a GI under Canadian trademark law.
Further, as previously reported in the E-TIPS® newsletter, Bill C-30 will also implement a number of changes to Canada’s patent linkage regulations affecting the pharmaceutical industry. More specifically, Bill C-30 introduces patent term extension of up to two years under the “certificates of supplementary protection” for regulatory delays and provides innovators with right of appeal under the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations.
The Government of Canada will now proceed with the process of modifying Canada’s regulatory regimes by introducing new regulations and amending existing ones to implement the CETA at the federal level.