The trade battle between Canada and the U.S. took a brief break last week as hours before the Trump tariffs were scheduled to take effect, President Trump agreed to a 30 day delay in return for various border measures. That brought a sigh of relief but no real sense that the issue is over. Indeed, quite the opposite – as future battles over tariffs and other measures appear very likely. Professor Richard Gold of McGill University’s Faculty of Law specializes in intellectual property. On last week’s Law Bytes episode, I referenced his proposal to consider suspending patents in key sectors such as pharmaceuticals and AI as a mechanism to counter US pressure. He joins me on the Law Bytes podcast to expand on his idea, explaining why there would be benefits for Canadian firms and frustration on U.S. firms that could spark domestic support to counter potential measures targeting Canada.
The podcast can be downloaded here, accessed on YouTube, and is embedded below. Subscribe to the podcast via Apple Podcast, Google Play, Spotify or the RSS feed. Updates on the podcast on Twitter at @Lawbytespod.
Show Notes:
Richard Gold, Canada Must Hit the U.S. Where It Hurts Most: Its Lucrative Patents
Credits:
CP 24, Trump Delays Tariffs for 30 Days Against Canada After ‘Good Call’ with PM Trudeau, February 3, 2025
That’s a really interesting point about using patent suspension as a negotiating tactic. A temporary delay is a relief, but it sounds like this trade dispute is far from over. I hadn’t considered the idea of suspending patents in key sectors as a way to counter US pressure – that’s a clever strategy, potentially creating domestic support to resist further US actions. I’d definitely listen to that Law Bytes podcast to learn more about Professor Gold’s proposal.
What a great idea! I don’t believe the Americans will see it coming. Is there not a greater threat to our sovereignty than having the commander of the most powerful military in the world say he will annex us?
It is an interesting option, and the irony of using this is that the US can’t complain, given that they do this themselves. Ok, they will complain like its nobody’s business, but a focus on the IP held by some of the pharma and tech-bros should get 47’s attention.
Suspending patents in critical industries as a countermeasure to US pressure is an excellent concept, one that I hadn’t thought of before but which would galvanise domestic support against additional US initiatives.
How many tariffs did you put on your billionaire slope club, for your out of the country investments.
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This is a very interesting perspective, especially considering that the U.S. has used similar tactics itself. Focusing on the intellectual property of pharmaceutical and tech companies could be an effective leverage, but the question remains: is Canada prepared to handle the potential strong backlash from the U.S.?
This is such a well-explained and informative post! Thank you for taking the time to share this. It answered a lot of questions I had, and I’ll definitely be using this knowledge moving forward.
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