Munk Senior Fellow Richard Owens was interviewed by Canadian current affairs podcast Beyond the Headlines for their episode on the North American Free Trade Agreement in the digital era.
Owens offered his expertise on intellectual property in Canada and NAFTA provisions regarding intellectual property
Intellectual property is one of Canada’s major focuses in NAFTA 2.0. Owens predicts we will see a strengthening of intellectual property provisions, with additional protections for pharmaceutical companies in Canada. Owens hopes to see intellectual property laws across Canada, Mexico and the United States come into greater concordance.
Owens airs his concern that a current NAFTA, which allows employees who work with “intellectual property-rich products” to travel freely between the three countries, is at risk of being excluded in a new agreement given current debate on immigration in the United States. If this provision is weakened or eliminated, Canadian companies may relocate to the United States to accommodate the US market.
Listen to the full podcast here [5:03].
