CIPO Consulting On Second Package Of Patent Law Amendments

by Glen Shapiro, LawAndTax-News.com, New York

14 January 2009

The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) last week launched a consultation on the second package of proposed amendments to the country's Patent Rules.

CIPO has been holding official consultation periods to collect public feedback on several proposed amendments to the Patent Rules.

This consultation period will end on February 28, 2009.

The amendments proposed in the second package seek to safeguard applicants’ rights in situations where their rights would have lapsed due to a failure to meet certain procedural requirements.

The package also improves some operational procedures, by providing more flexibility as to who can pay a fee and reinstate an abandoned application.

Finally, the package waives some of the fees related to sequence listings filed electronically, and reduces the required delay to request examination.

The Office also recently announced that its Patent Maintenance Fees Electronic Payment system is now available online. The new electronic system is designed to make paying patent maintenance fees more efficient and accurate for both clients and CIPO employees.

In mid-2008, CIPO unveiled its 2008-09 Business Plan, documenting plans and key activities for 2008-09, guided by the Strategic Plan 2007-2012, entitled 'Moving Forward to Canada’s Advantage'.

The strategic plan outlined five strategic directions adopted by the organization, namely: client services and outreach, the IP administrative framework, international activities, and staff.

This business plan was organized around these five strategic directions. It also included three key enablers deemed "critical to our success," according to CIPO. These were: management and accountability; internal and external communications; and information and technology.

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