ARCHIVED—Extensions of Time: Reply to an Examiner's Report
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In effect as of March 11, 2010
Note: This practice notice is intended to provide guidance on current practices of the Industrial Design Office and interpretation of relevant legislation. However, in the event of any inconsistency between this notice and the applicable legislation, the legislation must be followed. This notice replaces all previous notices on this subject.
The Office will generally grant an applicant one (1) extension of time to reply to an Examiner's Report. Upon receipt of a written request from the applicant, the Office will grant an extension of six (6) months. No requests for any further extensions of time will generally be considered. If, following the expiry of the extension of time, the applicant fails to reply, the application will be considered abandoned.
In exceptional cases, the Office will consider granting one (1) additional extension of time for a maximum of six (6) months. Prior to doing so, the Office will require that the applicant provide a written request that specifies the additional time required and explains the exceptional circumstances that prevent the applicant from replying to the Examiner's Report within the specified period.
If the applicant requests an additional extension of time and the reasons provided are not considered to justify the request, the Office will notify the applicant in writing. The applicant will have one (1) month from the date of the notification to file a response or the application will be considered abandoned.
The following are examples of exceptional circumstances that could justify an additional extension of time:
- Recent change in the Applicant (i.e. by way of an assignment) and/or a recent change in the Agent
If there has been a very recent change in the applicant and/or the agent, the Office may grant an additional extension of time, allowing the new applicant and/or the new agent to become familiar with the file in order to be able to reply to the outstanding report.
- Circumstances beyond the control of the person concerned
Examples could include: illness, accident, death, bankruptcy or other serious and unforeseen circumstances.
