News

Amendments to the Canadian Patent Rules to introduce Excess Claims Fees and Requests for Continued Prosecution (RCEs).

Patent Rule amendments were published July 3, 2021 in the Canada Gazette to streamline the patent examination process allowing Canada to implement the patent term adjustment obligation set out in the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA). (For more information and a detailed list of the changes please see the Canada Gazette, Part 1, Vol. 155, NO. 27: Rules Amending the Patent Rules.) A Part II publication of the Patent Rule amendments in the Canadian Gazette is expected in about 6 months bringing...

July 27, 2021
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Being a patent agent is challenging, becoming one is even more!

Being a patent agent is challenging, becoming one is even more! One of our Patent Agents, Peng Li, has compiled statistics regarding the pass rate for the patent agent exams in Canada, China and the U.S.A. Undoubtedly, the Canadian patent agent Examination is the most brutal one.  There is a surprisingly low average grade for Drafting (paper A) and Infringement Opinion (paper D). Being a patent agent is challenging in Canada; becoming one is even more!  Canadian Pass Rate Statistics China Pass Rate...

July 10, 2020
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Tackle the pandemic together with CIPO

Tackle the pandemic together with CIPO In addition to the existing options to expedite examination of patent applications, CIPO just announced a pilot process allowing accelerated examination of patent applications related to COVID-19 under certain conditions. For more information visit: http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/cipointernet-internetopic.nsf/eng/wr04811.html Published by Mr. Peng Li – Registered Canadian Patent Agent

July 9, 2020
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COVID 19 Update

COVID 19 Update In view of COVID 19, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office [Patent Office, Trademark Office, & Industrial Design Office] has again extended due dates until July 20th, 2020 for all matters before CIPO that have a deadline to take action for the period beginning March 16, 2020 and currently ending July 17, 2020. However, like CIPO, we are recommending that all deadlines falling within this period be continued to be met, where possible, so as to maintain as normal...

July 6, 2020
By News, Patents, Trademarks
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CUSMA (NFTA-2) comes into force July 1st 2020!

CUSMA (NFTA-2) comes into force July 1st 2020! CUSMA, the Canadian, United States and Mexico Agreement (NFTA-2) comes into force tomorrow, July 1st, 2020! Many IP obligations under CUSMA have been ratified through the new Patent Act, Industrial Design Act and Trademarks Act. More changes that will be made through legislative amendments are, for instance:       “collective marks” protection       Patent term adjustment due to unreasonable delay in the issuance of a patent       Increase in copyright protection       Strengthened the protection of trade secrets For more information please see: https://www.international.gc.ca/trade-commerce/trade-agreements-accords-commerciaux/agr-acc/cusma-aceum/text-texte/toc-tdm.aspx?lang=eng Published by Mr. Peng Li –...

June 30, 2020
By News, Patents
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COVID 19 Update

COVID 19 Update In view of COVID 19, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office [Patent Office, Trademark Office, & Industrial Design Office] is extending due dates until May 1, 2020 for all matters before CIPO that have a deadline to take action for the period beginning March 16, 2020 and currently ending April 30, 2020. However, like CIPO, we are recommending that all deadlines falling within this period be continued to be met, where possible, so as to maintain as normal a...

March 30, 2020
By News, Patents, Trademarks
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Canadian Patent Blog: New Patent Rules

Canadian Patent Blog: New Patent Rules The new Patent Rules were recently published and the long awaited amendments to the Canadian Patent Act are scheduled to come into force on October 30, 2019.  These changes to the Patent Rules and Patent Act will substantially alter Canadian practice. A few of these changes include but are not limited to: For new filings, an English or French translation is no longer needed to obtain a filing date; however, the translation must be provided within two...

July 23, 2019
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Canadian Trademarks Update: Madrid Protocol, the Singapore Treaty and the Nice Agreement 

Canadian Trademarks Update: Madrid Protocol, the Singapore Treaty and the Nice Agreement  In accordance with new Canadian trademark laws, today the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) announced that the Madrid Protocol, the Singapore Treaty and the Nice Agreement have now come into force for Canada. These changes give Canadian businesses access to the a centralized trademark filing systems enabling them to apply for a trademark in up to 120 countries with only one application. The following resources guide has been made available...

June 17, 2019
By News, Trademarks
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Canadian Trademarks Update

The new Trademarks Act in Canada comes into effect in 2 weeks, on June 17, 2019. Please see our post of February 22 for an outline of some of the changes. As a reminder, in regards to fees, it is important to note that there will be a separate fee charged per class ($330 government fee for the first class and then $100 for each additional class). In Canada, if the Examiner decides that additional classes are necessary, the applicant will...

June 3, 2019
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New Canadian Trademarks Law

The new Canadian Trademarks Act and Rules come into force in Canada on June 17, 2019.  The following is a highlight of changes in the law coming into force (CIF). The filing basis for applications has been eliminated. Accordingly there is no longer the need to specify the basis for filing of: a) a date of first use, b) intent to use, or c) on a foreign application/registration with use abroad. We believe the absence of this requirement at the...

February 22, 2019
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Patents & Trademarks