On April 15, 2020, Ann Pokalsky and Patricia Wilczynski Brozek, presented during AIPLA’s live webinar: “Focus on North America: Patent and Trademark Protection in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.” They were joined by Tony Sabeta of Aird & McBurney, LP, Toronto, Canada, and Victor Garrido, of Dumont, Bergman, Bider & Co., Mexico City, Mexico.

The webinar provided valuable information for applicants interested in pursuing intellectual property protection across North America.

Ms. Pokalsky’s talk concentrated on those areas of U.S. patent practice that differ from the patent practices of Canada and Mexico, including: grace period and on-sale bar under section 102, duty of candor, subject matter eligibility, obviousness, marking and notice, maintenance fees, patent term adjustment and patent term extension, continuation/divisional applications, terminal disclaimers, small entity status and abandoned patent applications. Ms. Wilczynski’s comprehensive talk compared the different trademark laws of the U.S., Canada and Mexico, with an emphasis on the U.S., including multiple trademark registers, establishing priority through unregistered trademark rights, the concept of use requirements, third party challenges, assignments/transferring ownership and recent U.S. rule changes. Mr. Sabeta discussed patent and trademark practice in Canada, with an emphasis on those areas of patent law that differ from the U.S. and Mexico, and Mr. Garrido spoke on those areas of Mexican patent and trademark law that are unique compared to the U.S. and Canada.

The information presented during the webinar will help applicants strategize and optimize patent and trademark filings in these three jurisdictions.