Government Tables Amendments to Bring Patent Act Into Conformity with WTO Agreement

OTTAWA, February 20, 2001 -- The Leader of the Government in the Senate, Sharon Carstairs, on behalf of Minister of Industry, Brian Tobin, today tabled in the Senate a bill to bring the Patent Act into compliance with Canada's obligations under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights of the World Trade Organization.

"The amendments being proposed today will implement the World Trade Organization patent term ruling and bring the Patent Act into conformity with our international obligations," said Minister Tobin.

The amendments are intended to implement a recent World Trade Organization ruling which found Canada's term of protection for certain "Old Act" patents (pre-1989) to be inconsistent with the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement. The Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement requires World Trade Organization members to provide a minimum term of protection of 20 years counted from the date the patent application is filed. Once enacted, the proposed amendments would extend the term of certain "Old Act" patents to 20 years counted from the date the applications for these patents were filed. Patents based on applications filed on or after October 1, 1989 ("New Act" patents) already benefit from a Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights-compliant term and are not affected by the proposed amendments.

The Speech from the Throne set out the Government of Canada's commitment to ensuring that Canadian laws and regulations, including those governing intellectual property, remain among the most modern and progressive in the world. Meeting international obligations is a necessary first step. Once the World Trade Organization ruling has been implemented, the Government of Canada will look forward to engaging Parliamentarians and Canadians on a broader dialogue to explore the role of the intellectual property regime in building an innovative economy and sustaining an attractive environment for investment.

For more information, please contact:

Heidi Bonnell
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of Industry
(613) 995-9001

Susan Bincoletto
Director, Special Projects Directorate
Industry Canada
(613) 952-2118