Combating Counterfeit Products Act (Bill C-8) Passed in House of Commons

The Combating Counterfeit Products Act is one step closer to being passed into law.  Bill C-8 (formerly Bill C-56) received first reading in the Senate on October 2, 2014.   The aim of Bill C-8 is to strengthen Canada’s laws against counterfeiting and to give Customs Officials greater powers to stop counterfeit products from entering Canada.  Some of the changes proposed by Bill C-8 include:

• the creation of new civil causes of action and criminal offences against trademark counterfeiting and prohibiting the possession or export of counterfeit goods;
• the enactment of  new border enforcement measures that enable customs officers to detain suspected infringing goods;
• the implementation of procedures that will allow customs officers to share information on detained goods with trademark owners; and
• the creation of new powers to permit police to use wiretaps.

Among the shortcomings of Bill C-8 is the fact that rights holders will be responsible for the costs associated with detaining suspected goods, which may prove to be prohibitive.  Nevertheless, Bill C-8 is seen as a welcome step towards the modernization of Canada’s IP regime.
For further information, please contact Paula Clancy.

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