Administering the Patent Agent and Trade-mark Agent qualifying Examinations

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Section 15 of the Patent Act and section 28 of the Trade-marks Act establish a profession of patent agents and trade-mark agents, respectively, comprised of people who are deemed qualified to prosecute patent or trade-mark applications before the appropriate office. For the patent agent qualifying examination, the Commissioner of Patents appoints the members of the Examining Board, of which the Chairperson and at least three other members are employees of the Patent Office, with at least five members being patent agents nominated by the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada. The Examining Board is responsible for preparing and marking the qualifying examination. The PAB administers the annual examination, which allows candidates who have passed to be placed on the register of patent agents.

For the trade-mark agent qualifying examination, the Registrar of Trade-marks appoints the members of an Examining Board as well, of which at least two members shall be trade-mark agents nominated by the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada. This Board is responsible for setting and marking the qualifying examination. The Patent Appeal Board is also responsible for all the administrative aspects of this exam.

• Rules 12 to 14 are the relevant authorities in the Patent Rules.
• Rules 18 to 20 are the relevant authorities in the Trade-marks Regulations.

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