In the U.S. Chamber’s 2012 Special 301 Submission, it was noted that Canada’s intellectual property (IP) regime lags behind that of many developed nations, and it was encouraged that Canada make a number of reforms to their IP laws in order to position Canada as a strong global partner.

It appears the Canadian people agree with this assessment.

In a study released this week by Nanos Research, a public research firm based in Canada, 76 percent of Canadians agreed that Canada’s IP protection should at least be the same or stronger than that of Canada’s trading partners. As stated by Nik Nanos, President and CEO of Nanos Research. “It is also important to note that a very small minority, only 12.4%, of Canadians think we need less intellectual property protection. It is a clear signal that Canadians assign a significant level of value to intellectual property.”

With the enactment into law of Bill C-11, the Copyright Modernization Act, Canada took a positive step toward advancing IP protections. However, Canada’s intellectual property system continues to provide an inadequate level of IP protection and enforcement across industry.  As Canada enters into the negotiations over the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP), it will be critical that Canada continues to make progress to ensure that intellectual property rights (IPR) are protected and IP rules are enforced.

The Chamber continues to urge Canada to do more to combat IP theft, particularly online, and we strongly encourage Canada to take steps to secure greater stability and certainty for innovative pharmaceuticals.

As negotiations over the TPP continue, Canada has a golden opportunity to modernize its IP laws and enforcement standards. The Canadian people clearly see the value of protecting and enforcing IPR, and the Chamber of Commerce will work with our Canadian partners to demonstrate that intellectual property is a key engine of growth and economic development in the global economy.