The committee met twice this week to continue its study on the Intellectual Property Regime in Canada.
The meeting on 30 October, 2012 involved the following witnesses: Wayne J. Edwards, Chair and Vice-President (Canadian Anti-Counterfeiting Network); Vladimir Gagachev, Manager, Regulatory Affairs, Electrical Sector (Eaton Yale Company); Terry Hunter, Manager, Anti-Counterfeiting and Intellectual Property Enforcement (Canadian Standards Association); and John McDougall, President (National Research Council Canada). Mr. Edwards, Mr. Gagachev and Mr. Hunter emphasized the urgent need to fight the rising counterfeiting crimes in Canada. Among the major recommendations they mentioned included adopting a system where IP rights holders may record their rights with the Canadian Border Services (CBS) so that counterfeited products may be identified, empowering the CBS with an authority which enable them to target, detain, seize and destroy counterfeit goods and educating the young. Mr. McDougall reiterated on the role of the NRC, which has become less scientist-driven with more industrial financial involvement. As such, the NRC foresees more industrial type publication in the future. Mr. McDougall was also requested to provide some form of document which further elaborates the new direction for the NRC.
On November 1st, the committee heard testimony from the following witnesses: Rami Abielmona, Vice-President, Research and Engineering, Larus Technologies Corporation; Gordon A. Davies, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary, Open Text Corporation; Karna Gupta, President and Chief Executive Officer, Information Technology Association of Canada; and Martin Lavoie, Director of Policy, Manufacturing Competitiveness and Innovation, Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters. The Minutes can be found here.