The Government of Canada has modernized Canada's intellectual property (IP) regime by joining 5 international IP treaties, specifically with regard to industrial designs, trademarks and patents.
The goal is to reduce the administrative burden and provide harmonized procedures for Canadian businesses. Positioning Canada as a global innovation centre is key to advancing our Innovation and Skills Plan.
The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) is also modernizing the IP legal framework and office practices. These are aligned with Canada's efforts to develop and implement our IP Strategy to help ensure that its IP regime is modern and robust and that it supports Canadian innovation in the 21st century.
On this page
- Canada's progress in joining the treaties
- International IP treaties that Canada has already joined
- Additional information and training opportunities
Canada's progress in joining the treaties
Joining the treaties is a complex initiative with many components, including legislative, regulatory and information technology requirements.
We consulted broadly with stakeholders and interested parties to get their input throughout the process.
After the ratification of the Patent Law Treaty in October 2019, CIPO has now fully implemented all 5 treaties, which include the following:
Industrial designs and the Hague Agreement
Industrial designs and the Hague Agreement
On , Canada acceded to the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs (the Hague System) and implemented changes to significantly modernize Canada's industrial design regime.

Figure 1 - Text version
- Amendments to the Industrial Design Act (2014)
- Public consultations on the draft Regulations (2017)
- Canada Gazette process (I and II) (2018)
- Deposit of instrument of accession at WIPO (2018)
- Coming into force (2018)
The Hague Agreement
The Hague System provides a mechanism for acquiring, maintaining and managing design rights in member countries and intergovernmental organizations through a single international application filed with the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). There are multiple countries and regional associations in the Hague System, including most of Canada's major trading partners, such as the United States, the European Union, South Korea and Japan.
Membership in the Hague Agreement provides key benefits for business:
- One application, one payment, one currency and one place
- Simpler rights maintenance and management
Modernizing Canada's industrial design regime
With the accession to the Hague Agreement, Canada introduced a number of modernization measures to its industrial design regime that also have key benefits for business:
- Increased term of protection, from 10 to 15 years
- Codification of the "novelty test"
- Less red tape
- Enhanced e-services
Legislative and regulatory process
To facilitate Canada's accession to the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement and to modernize the industrial design regime, a number of amendments were made to the Industrial Design Act and Industrial Design Regulations, which came into force on .
CIPO has also revamped its Industrial Design Office Practice Manual, which sets out how it operationalizes the above-noted legislative and regulatory changes.
Engagement activities
CIPO has actively engaged with key stakeholders (e.g. IP agents who are regular users of the Canadian industrial design system) about the changes necessary to join the Hague System throughout the regulatory development process.
Engagement activities have included the following:
- Technical reviews of changes on various regulatory elements
- Technical reviews of changes in information technology
- In-person and online public consultations in the Canada Gazette
- Consultations with WIPO
CIPO plans to keep engaging with stakeholders on an ongoing basis.
Technical reviews
- Technical review of the changes to the Industrial Design Act (July 2014)
- Technical review of the regulatory drafting instructions with the Industrial Design Practice Committee (IDPC) (February 2016)
- Technical review of the draft Industrial Design Regulations (May 2017)
- Technical consultations on the draft Industrial Design Office Practice Manual with the IDPC (March 2018)
In-person consultations
- Consultations on the regulatory drafting instructions with WIPO (February 2016)
- Consultations on the draft Industrial Design Regulations with WIPO (June 2017)
- Demonstration of changes to the e-filing service with clients (December 2017)
Online consultations
- Public consultations on the proposed Industrial Design Regulations (June to July 2017)
- Canada Gazette, Part I: Public consultations on amendments to the Industrial Design Regulations (December 2017 to January 2018)
- Public consultations on the new Industrial Design Office Practice Manual (May to June 2018)
Trademarks and the Madrid Protocol, Singapore Treaty and Nice Agreement
Trademarks and the Madrid Protocol, Singapore Treaty and Nice Agreement
On June 17, 2019, the Madrid Protocol, the Singapore Treaty and the Nice Agreement came into force in Canada.
The Madrid Protocol is an international registration system (the "Madrid System") that offers the possibility of obtaining protection for trademarks in a number of countries through a single international application filed with the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
The Singapore Treaty is a trademark law treaty that aims to make national trademark registration systems more user-friendly and to reduce business compliance costs for trademark owners.
The Nice Agreement governs an international system used to categorize goods and services for the purpose of registering trademarks. The Nice Classification system creates specific categories for goods and services that are harmonized across all member countries, making it easier to search for and compare different trademarks.

Figure 2 - Text version
- Amendments to the Trademarks Act (2014)
- Public consultations on the draft Regulations (2017)
- Canada Gazette process (I and II) (2018)
- Deposit of instrument of accession at WIPO (2019)
- Coming into force ()
Engagement activities
The Trademarks Branch and the Trademarks Opposition Board actively engaged with stakeholders (including a range of associations, IP agents and major trademark filers in Canada) about the changes necessary to join the Madrid Protocol, the Singapore Treaty and the Nice Agreement.
Engagement activities included the following:
- Technical reviews of changes on various legislative and regulatory elements
- In-person and online public consultations
- Ongoing collaboration with WIPO
CIPO plans to keep engaging with stakeholders on an ongoing basis.
Technical reviews
- Email survey on the Nice Agreement (fee per class), use and relief measures (November 2013)
- Technical review of the draft Trademarks Regulations (February 2017)
- Technical consultations in Ottawa, Montréal, Toronto and Vancouver regarding draft practice notices (February 2018)
In-person consultations
- Consultation on proposed trademark fees with top trademark filers (April 2015)
- Consultations on new and updated Trademarks Opposition Board practice notices (April and May 2018)
Online consultations
- Public pre-consultation on the drafting instructions for the draft Trademarks Regulations (October 2014)
- User Fees Act consultation on trademark fees (June 2016)
- Public consultations on the proposed Trademarks Regulations (June 2017)
- Canada Gazette, Part I: Public consultations on amendments to the Trademarks Regulations (February 2018)
- Public consultation on new and updated Trademarks Opposition Board practice notices (November and December 2018)
Patents and the Patent Law Treaty
Patents and the Patent Law Treaty
On October 30, 2019, Canada officially ratified the Patent Law Treaty when the amendments to the Patent Act and the new Patent Rules came into force.
The Patent Law Treaty aims to harmonize and streamline patent administrative procedures among national IP offices. It addresses issues such as the provision of notification to avoid loss of rights, representation before the IP office and red-tape reduction.

Figure 3 - Text version
- Amendments to the Patent Act (2014-2015)
- Amendments to the Patent Rules and public consultations on the draft regulations (2017)
- Canada Gazette process (I and II) (2018 to 2019)
- Deposit of instrument of accession at WIPO (2019)
- Coming into force ()
Engagement activities
The Patent Branch actively engaged with a wide range of stakeholders throughout the process. Key stakeholders who provided valuable feedback in consultations included the following:
- registered patent agents representing both Canadian and foreign applicants and patentees
- national and international professional associations (e.g. Intellectual Property Institute of Canada and International Federation of Intellectual Property Attorneys)
- members of the public (Canadian and foreign)
CIPO plans to keep engaging with stakeholders on an ongoing basis.
International IP treaties that Canada has already joined
Treaties that apply to trademarks
Treaties that apply to copyright
- Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works ()
- Rome Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organizations ()
- Summary of the WIPO Convention
- Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled (June 2013)
Treaties that apply to patents
Additional information and training opportunities
Consult these pages for more information on the 5 treaties and how they are modernizing IP regimes:
- International IP treaties: benefits for business
- Modernizing Canada's industrial design regime
- Review the Industrial Design Regulations that were published in the Canada Gazette, Part II
- Modernizing Canada's trademark regime
- Review the Trademarks Regulations that were published in the Canada Gazette, Part II
- Backgrounder: Canada's new Trademarks Regulations
- Draft resources for upcoming trademarks legislative changes
- Navigating the changes to opposition and section 45 proceedings
- Webinar on changes to opposition and section 45 proceedings
- Webinar on the Trademarks Opposition Board's new and improved e-services
- Modernizing Canada's patent regime
- Review the Patent Rules that were published in the Canada Gazette, Part II
- Read the Patent Rules consultation document to learn more of the details of the patent legislation changes
- Info-letter: All eyes on the Patent Law Treaty
- View video information sessions
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