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Another Step Toward the TPP: Canada Moves to Ratify Five Intellectual Property Treaties

The Canadian government quietly tabled five intellectual property treaties in the House of Commons on Monday:

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2) I have the honour to table, in both official languages, five treaties, entitled, one, Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks, adopted at Madrid on June 27, 1989, as amended on October 3, 2006, and on November 12, 2007; two, the Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks, adopted at Singapore on March 27, 2006; three, the Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classifications of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks, adopted in Nice on June 15, 1957, as revised at Stockholm on July 14, 1967, and at Geneva on May 13, 1977, and amended on September 20, 1979; four, the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs adopted at Geneva on July 2, 1999; and, five, Patent Law Treaty, done at Geneva on June 1, 2000.

I wrote about the move toward ratifying these treaties last year. The Industry Committee recommended their ratification despite the fact that no witnesses raised the issue during lengthy committee hearings. So why the recommendation? I suggested then that the decision is primarily designed to place Canada in position to ratify the Canada – EU Trade Agreement and the Trans Pacific Partnership. While neither of those trade agreements are public, leaks suggest that both include provisions requiring signatories to adopt those IP treaties. The five IP treaties, which focus largely on administrative issues, will now enter the treaty ratification process, which includes a 21-sitting day period where MPs can initiate debate.

3 Comments

  1. MillionGamer says:

    Do thaïs inclure any Ip for the internet censorship?

  2. Demands
    Is there any indication that the Canadian gov is caving to US IP demands?

  3. Maynard Krebs says:

    Whao, that’s a good one!!!!
    What a knee-slapper, Dr. Geist.

    MP’s initiating debate. Good one.