Industry committee  Mr. Chair, honourable members, we thank you for the invitation to speak with you today. The Canadian Bar Association is a national association of 37,500 lawyers, notaries, law teachers, and students. Many of our members are in-house counsel who represent significant stakeholder

Industry committee  That's a good question. If use were maintained, I think we could live with the adoption. Let's put it this way. The treaties provide tools, and Madrid in particular, because what Madrid does is provide a mechanism for obtaining an international registration, but it's not really

Industry committee  The U.S. in particular....

Industry committee  It's very similar to Canada. Once an application has been allowed, if it was based on intent to use there's a requirement to file a statement of use, and not only a statement of use but specimens. Also, as Mr. Eisen mentioned, between the fifth and sixth anniversaries of registra

Industry committee  That's right.

Industry committee  That's correct. The bill does maintain some aspects of use, but I will say this. Many countries, Europe and the European Union included, did away with use, but I am aware that there may be considerations ongoing at the moment to implement again a requirement to use.

Industry committee  Well, no, not entirely, because what's happening is that registration can be obtained without having to file a declaration of use, yes, but what that does is give someone the right to sue for infringement and passing off. In an infringement scenario, there's no requirement, then,

Industry committee  No. Sorry.

Industry committee  They don't require the elimination of a requirement to declare use.

Industry committee  That's right. The suggestion would be to hive off at least these sections, if not the whole division, for greater consultation.

Industry committee  That's right. At the moment, there is a lot more policing involved at the examination stage, and that is being eliminated.

Industry committee  It could, if oppositions are launched. These are third-party oppositions. If a trademark owner has been using their mark for years and maybe, for whatever reason, they didn't get around to registering it, and someone else comes along and scoops it, if the owner is in time, the ow

Industry committee  Yes.

Industry committee  That's part of the picture. What can happen is that spurious folks who have no interest in Canada come in. They will not now face a requirement to declare use. They can get registered. They can go and initiate infringement in passing off or—

Industry committee  You can. Now, whether you will be successful.... But it can be used as a strategy to extort money from the businesses. Then what the business owner has to do is say, “I know this person hasn't used, but now I have to go to the trouble of expunging that registration or paying them