THE MADRID PROTOCOL HAS ENTERED INTO FORCE IN CANADA AND NEW TRADEMARK LAWS ARE NOW IN EFFECT

The Madrid Protocol has entered into force as of June 17, 2019, and a new Canadian trademark law is now in effect. Canada acceded to the Madrid Protocol on March 17th, 2019, and is now its 104th member. The new national law, inter alia, removes the requirement of a filing basis, reduces the registration term from 15 to 10 years, and in many ways, broadens the grounds available to seek expungement (ie, summary cancellation) of a registration.