CANADA JOINS APOSTILLE CONVENTION SIMPLIFYING PROCESS FOR LEGALIZATION OF DOCUMENTS IN MEMBER COUNTRIES
Canadian brand owners seeking intellectual property protection abroad can breathe a little easier in the New Year – effective January 11, 2024, Canada will be a member of the Apostille Convention, formally known as The Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents. This will increase efficiency for Canadian companies conducting business abroad by creating a streamlined and cost-effective method to legalize corporate documents. This is particularly helpful for intellectual property owners, as it applies to Powers of Attorney and other formal documents often required to effect intellectual property filings abroad.
From January 11, 2024 onwards, Canadians will be able to submit documents requiring legalization for an authenticity certificate called an "apostille" without having to go through the current expensive and often prohibitively time consuming processes through local embassies and consulates.
Apostilles can be issued by either a competent provincial authority or Global Affairs Canada depending on where in Canada the document was issued and notarized. An apostille certificate will allow the attached documents to be used in any of the Apostille Convention's more than 124 member countries, including, among others, the United States of America, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Australia, Luxembourg, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina. A full list of the member countries can be found here, and a set of guidelines surrounding the processes for obtaining apostilles can be found here.
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