What's New

November 16, 2009

Patent Branch to begin consultation on MOPOP Chapter 9: Description

As part of the ongoing regular process of updating the Manual of Patent Office Practice (MOPOP), the draft revised Chapter 9: Description is being released for public consultation today, November 16, 2009.

Stakeholders will have the opportunity to provide comments on the draft chapter from November 16, 2009, to December 30, 2009.

Chapter 9 deals with the requirements for providing a correct and full description of an invention; the proposed chapter revisions will provide greater detail for these requirements.

The MOPOP is published to provide patent examiners, applicants, agents, and the public in general with a guide on the procedures and practices relative to the prosecution of patent applications in Canada under the current Patent Act and Patent Rules. This Manual is to be considered solely as a guide and should not be quoted as an authority. Authority must be found in the Patent Act, the Patent Rules, and in decisions of the Courts interpreting them.

For any questions regarding the consultation process, please contact Chris Evans, at 819-934-2323 or by regular mail to the following address:

Canadian Intellectual Property Office
Patent Branch
50 Victoria Street,
Place du Portage II
Gatineau, QC K1A 0C9
Attention: Chris Evans

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November 10, 2009

Consultation on the Repeal of the Timber marking Act and Rules

November 10, 2009 – January 8, 2010

The Copyright and Industrial Design Branch requests your participation in a consultation on the proposal to repeal the Timber marking Act and Timber marking Rules.

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November 2, 2009

Practice Notice on Obviousness

The proposed Practice Notice concerning Obviousness was open for consultations from May 14, 2009, to June 19, 2009, inclusive. Consideration of comments received has been completed, and this Notice is in effect as of November 2, 2009.

This Notice concerns the practice guidance relied on by examiners when considering whether or not a claimed invention is obvious.

For more information, please see the Patent Notice page. You can also contact Programs Manager Chris Evans by email, or call the CIPO Client Service Center at 819-934-0544 or toll-free at 1-866-997-1936.

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October 15, 2009

Celebrating Small Business Week

At the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO), we recognize that entrepreneurs and their innovative businesses are key to Canada's economic growth.

This is why every week at CIPO is Small Business Week!

Entrepreneurs are idea people – filled with concepts, aspirations and ambition. They see an opportunity at every turn and are continuously looking for improvements.

In today's global and digital marketplace, it is more important than ever for entrepreneurs to understand the value of their business' intellectual property.  Many Canadian entrepreneurs hold a form of intellectual property without knowing it.

CIPO has a wide-range of resources for entrepreneurs wishing to manage their intellectual property assets. 

CIPO's free databases are a valuable source for commercial and technical intelligence.    For example this type of information can help businesses to review existing innovations thereby avoiding duplication of research and development; identify market trends; and look for licensing opportunities.

Know your intellectual property and stand out from your competitors!

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October 6, 2009

Trade-marks - New and improved Wares and Services Guide

As part of the Canadian Intellectual Property Office's (CIPO) commitment to improving service to its clients, the Trade-marks Office has revised the Wares and Services Manual. This intensive revision has a two-fold benefit. It will allow clients to select more specific terms relating to the goods and services for their requested trade-marks. These will in turn also contribute to quicker turn-around times in the examination phase of these requests.

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October 1, 2009

Consultation on Industrial Design Extension of Time Practice (October 1 to 31, 2009)

The Industrial Design Office requests your participation in a consultation on the proposed extension of time practice.

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Canada signs three new PPH Pilot Program Agreements

Agreements to launch two-year pilot programs between Canada-Japan, Canada-Denmark, and Canada-Korea were signed in Geneva, Switzerland by Canadian Intellectual Property Office CEO Mary Carman.

The Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilots will help advance patent examination in Canada, Japan, Denmark, and Korea by allowing applicants from these countries to obtain corresponding patents faster and more efficiently. It also will permit CIPO, the Japan Patent Office (JPO), the Danish Patent and Trademark Office (DKPTO), and the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) to benefit from work previously done by the other country's patent office, in turn reducing examination workload and improving patent quality.

These initiatives will be similar to the Canada-United States PPH pilot project that currently exists between CIPO and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), which was initiated in January 28, 2008 and extended to January 28, 2011.

These PPH pilot programs will commence on October 1, 2009, for a period of two years ending on September 30, 2011. The trial period may be extended if necessary to adequately assess the feasibility of the PPH programs. The intellectual property offices will evaluate the results of their respective pilot programs to determine whether the programs should be fully implemented after the trial period.

During the pilots, CIPO will process requests for accelerated examination under the PPH programs free of charge. CIPO will evaluate what fees, if any, should apply for this service if it later becomes permanent. Regular fees (Schedule II of the Patent Rules) for requesting examination continue to apply.

This initiative supports CIPO's mandate to improve products, services and processes in areas of highest priority to clients while supporting the greater public good.

For more information on the pilots, visit the PPH webpage, or contact the PPH Project Manager by email: pph@ic.gc.ca, or by calling the CIPO Client Service Center at 819-934-0544 or toll-free at 1-866-997-1936.

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Update to CIPO-USPTO PPH Pilot Program

Effective October 1, 2009, the requirements and procedures of the PPH pilot program have been revised to implement an enhanced practice of the claim correspondence requirement. The definition of claim correspondence has been amended to be more flexible by allowing the applicant to include claims that are narrower in scope before the office of second filing while still retaining sufficient correspondence between claims found to be allowable in the office of first filing and those before the office of second filing.

This update harmonizes the CIPO-USPTO PPH pilot program with the three new PPH pilot programs that CIPO has launched on October 1, 2009 with the Japan Patent Office (JPO), the Danish Patent and Trademark Office (DKPTO), and the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO).

For more information on the pilot, visit the PPH webpage, or contact the PPH Project Manager by email: pph@ic.gc.ca, or by calling the CIPO Client Service Center at 819-934-0544 or toll-free at 1-866-997-1936.

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September 16, 2009

Consultation - Trade-marks - (Sept 16 to Nov 15, 2009) Use and Registration Abroad

The Trade-marks Office requests your participation in a consultation on the processing of applications containing incomplete 16(2) claims. Please see the following link for details (Introduction to consultation).

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