On June 17, 2019, big changes to Canada's Trade-marks Act (the law that protects, essentially, a brand) fundamentally altering Canada's trade-mark ownership and protection regime will finally take effect. The looming changes, in the works for five years, fundamentally shift Canada's trade-marks legal regime and eliminate the requirement for use of the trade-mark before registering it. And this will have a very real and practical business impact.
Trade-marks can be an extremely valuable business asset: most businesses identify their business, products or services with a unique trade-mark. The changes will make it more difficult and more costly for businesses to protect their trade-marks, potentially dampening their development of new brands in Canada. Businesses that plan to renew or apply for trade-mark registrations might still have time to renew or apply before the changes take effect – but only if they act now.
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