On Dec.16, 2014, Bill C-43, A second Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on February 11, 2014 and other measures (also known as Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 2), received Royal Assent. Embedded in Bill C-43 are amendments to the Canadian Patent Act and the Canadian Industrial Design Act.

Amendments to the Patent Act

Gowlings' previous report on the amendments to the Patent Act can be found in the article entitled " Canada prepares for Patent Law Treaty". Notable changes include:

  1. changes to application, examination and maintenance fee payments;
  2. changes to the reinstatement process;
  3. the extension of the period for claiming priority from twelve to fourteen months provided the delay was unintentional;
  4. a new provision enabling the contents of a priority application to be introduced into an application by "reference" to the early application at the time of filing or within six months thereafter; and,
  5. changes to patent transfers.

Amendments to the Industrial Design Act

Gowlings' previous report on the amendments to the Industrial Design Act can be found in the article entitled " Canada prepares for Hague Agreement on international industrial design registrations". Notable changes include:

  1. new filing date requirements to ensure compliance with the Hague Agreement;
  2. introducing the requirement of "novelty" and a definition of such, and replacement of the previous "originality" test;
  3. permitting priority claims to earlier filed Canadian applications;
  4. amending the protection period to be the later of 10 years after the date of registration of the design or the end of 15 years after the filing date of the application; and
  5. expanding the powers of the Governor in Council with regard to making regulations under the Industrial Design Act.

The amendments to the Patent Act and the Industrial Design Act through Bill C-43 do not take immediate effect. They will come into force on a day or days to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council. If recent amendments to the Trade-marks Act are any guide, the new provisions to the Patent Act and the Industrial Design Act will not likely be in force until late 2015 or 2016.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.