European Union

Canada

IP Enforcement

5. Do Canadian courts have a specific statutory authority to prevent the entry into the channels of commerce of goods which infringe patent rights, i.e. does the Patent Act contain provisions equivalent to Section 53 of the Trade-marks Act or Section 44 of the Copyright Act, or must a right holder depend on the courts' general discretion to provide injunctive relief under Section 57 of the Patent Act or Section 18 of the Federal Court Act? If the latter, can Canadian courts effectively block goods at the border under the existing test for interlocutory relief (Article 44.1 of the TRIPS Agreement)?

Customs detains goods at the border when directed by the courts to do so only under the Trade-marks Act and the Copyright Act. There is provision for detention of imports of infringing goods under the Integrated Circuit Topography Act (section 14), but, to date, this has not been used for any action to be taken by Customs Officials. Section 57 of the Patent Act, together with the inherent equitable authority of the superior courts, would allow such courts to order, where appropriate, that infringing goods not be imported into Canada.