Find out why BLG is the perfect place for experienced lawyers and new graduates to build a career law clerks and other paraprofessionals are integral to our success We offer a range of opportunities for legal support and business services functions Read the updated version published in March 2025. the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) launched the new MyCIPO Patents online portal for filing as part of their modernization effort and alignment with the World Intellectual Property Office’s ST.27 standard for the Exchange of Patent Legal Status Data Initial issues that appear to have been resolved included: issues arising from CIPO’s modernization efforts crippled Canadian patent activity over the summer and fall and continue to have significant impact On December 6, CIPO announced several updates by email notice. Some details are available in CIPO’s ‘MyCIPO Patents - What to expect’ document posted online CIPO resumed issuing a small volume of notices of allowances on November 27th and has indicated this volume will ramp up over time CIPO has also indicated that they are beginning to process final fee payments to clear a backlog of applications ready for grant CIPO has paused patent granting “for a few weeks” while processing this backlog CIPO has provided a target time frame of January 2025 for “resumption of reinstatement and abandonment processes” without elaborating on details It is assumed that this relates to delayed issuance of abandonment notices and processing of reinstatement requests and fees Improper status indicators continue to plague the CPD: a volume of applications is marked in error as abandoned despite timely submissions having been taken to keep such applications pending and in good standing CIPO appears to have indicated that such erroneous status indicators will resolve as associated submissions are processed by their analysts (a number of aims relate to “data correction”) While application statuses remain improperly marked applicants and patentees may wish to make formal status queries via CIPO’s online customer feedback form we have noticed that some third-party service providers have been reluctant or unable to submit annual maintenance fee payments when applications and patents show as improperly abandoned or expired according to the CPD No timeline is available for resolving the erroneous status indicators We use cookies on our website. To learn more about cookies, how we use them on our site and how to change your cookie settings, please view our cookie policy By continuing to use this site without changing your settings you consent to our use of cookies in accordance with our cookie policy WIPO Deputy Director General Hasan Kleib and Konstantinos Georgaras Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) signed an agreement on October 7 2024 ushering a new era of cooperation between both institutions in the area of intellectual property (IP) training and skills-building The agreement upgrades the long-standing cooperation framework between the WIPO Academy and CIPO to offer Executive Training Programs for senior officials coming from IP offices in developing countries and least developed countries The signing ceremony coincided with the start of the new and improved WIPO-CIPO Executive Training Program which was held from October 7 to 11 Canada for the benefit of nine participants representing IP offices from Africa "WIPO is very pleased to upgrade our long-standing collaboration with CIPO through this revamped Executive Program which reaffirms our shared commitment to enhance the leadership and managerial capabilities of IP offices from developing countries and least developed countries (LDCs) IP offices play a pivotal role in the innovation ecosystem of all countries serving as conduits for ideas to travel to the market and across borders our goal is to provide upskilling opportunities grounded in real-world experiences and with a clear focus on using IP to deliver value to users by providing high quality IP services." - Hasan Kleib Deputy Director General of the Regional and National Development Sector of WIPO the CIPO-WIPO Executive Program has hosted over 200 participants from nearly 90 countries offering invaluable training to senior IP officials globally guided by CIPO’s Five-Year Business Strategy has been revamped to better equip participants in fostering innovation and improving IP services Participants worked directly with CIPO experts on impactful initiatives tailored to enhance their respective IP offices further solidified by the recent agreement signed between CIPO and WIPO." - Konstantinos Georgaras The program included a fireside conversation on the cooperation between WIPO and CIPO and practical sessions delivered by senior CIPO officials on ways to optimize IP office operations to improve the delivery of IP services participants learned about new techniques they could implement upon their return to their home countries and ways they could introduce more IP services for their national and regional beneficiaries Each participant also delivered a presentation on their respective IP office and will work on a research project under the guidance of a dedicated CIPO advisor which they could later implement in real-life The WIPO Academy’s Executive Training Program was launched in 2024 to offer short and intensive practical skills-building opportunities for IP professionals interested in: Access our patent databases and search tools Go to overview Technology insight report on plastic waste management Practical information on filing and grant procedures Go to overview Find out how the Unitary Patent can enhance your IP strategy the Official Journal and other legal texts Go to overview Keep up with key aspects of selected BoA decisions with our monthly "Abstracts of decisions” Go to overview From ideas to inventions: tune into our podcast for the latest in tech and IP The European Patent Academy – the point of access to your learning Go to overview Have a look at the extensive range of learning opportunities in the European Patent Academy training catalogue Go to overview Track the latest tech trends with our Patent Index EPO Vice-President Patent Granting Process and Konstantinos Georgaras Chief Executive Officer at the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) Vice-President Patent Granting Process at the European Patent Office (EPO) Director General Corporate Strategies and Services Branch at the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) participated in the 7th IP Data & Research Conference in Ottawa the EPO and CIPO renewed their annual work plan during a bilateral meeting marking a new chapter in the collaboration between the offices A highlight of the conference was the on-stage discussion between Mr Rowan and Mr Collette where they exchanged on the intellectual property (IP) system’s role in supporting a country’s productivity and advancing technological developments in areas such as AI Mr Rowan presented the EPO’s "human-centric approach to AI” in the Patent Grant Process emphasising that “an examiner with AI is better than an examiner or AI alone” They also discussed IP’s ability to address global challenges like climate change and noted both offices’ shared priorities regarding sustainability and green technologies The bilateral meeting concluded with the signing of the 2024-2026 work plan strengthening joint efforts to improve classification and further support innovation The new plan presents initiatives to simplify patent procedures support micro-entities and harmonise international standards One key focus is the Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) system and the offices' joint efforts to enhance CIPO's patent classification system through the implementation of the CPC training sessions and technical implementation support from the EPO The work plan also outlines CIPO’s contribution to the EPO’s firefighting platform which leverages patent data to accelerate the development of wildfire mitigation technologies which are especially relevant given Canada's climate risks This will be performed in collaboration with the EPO Observatory and facilitate greater knowledge exchange on trend and policy development as well as help to identify synergies or opportunities for further collaboration The agreement reflects a strengthened commitment to mutual support and the global IP system laying the foundation for continued growth in European and Canadian innovation through shared expertise and strategic projects the Unitary Patent and international co-operation high on the agenda Highlighting the role of patents in Albanian startups and universities European competitiveness and how patent intelligence informs policymaking Unitary Patent/UPC and user feedback were on the agenda Deepening collaboration to build a more accessible European patent system for smaller applicants The newly signed agreement aims to support innovation and economic growth while fostering bilateral trade and investment between Europe and Brazil. EPO President meets with ministers and heads of IP offices in Bulgaria and Montenegro Workshop in Slovenia focuses on EPO support for PATLIB centres ranging from training to advanced patent tools On-site workshop supports national patent offices in designing ANSERA-based SEARCH training programme European patents can now extend to 46 countries Bilateral agreement marks a new milestone in long-standing partnership Flags flown at half-mast in Munich and The Hague CPC community strengthens ties in Geneva More than 18 000 requests for validation since the signing of the agreement between the European Patent Organisation and Morocco EPO concludes Memorandum of Understanding with Ministry and launches Patent Prosecution Highway pilot Co-operation with national patent offices and stakeholders: milestones to date and next steps 17.2 million patents in force worldwide – 91% are valid in one of the IP5 jurisdictions First country in the Americas to sign validation agreement with the EPO The agreement allows for fee reductions for small entities and fast high-quality search reports for national applications Discussions on European innovation policies and the Unitary Patent Sign Up for any (or all) of our 25+ Newsletters or other content and links should not be construed as legal or professional advice or a substitute for such advice No attorney-client or confidential relationship is formed by the transmission of information between you and the National Law Review website or any of the law firms or other professionals or organizations who include content on the National Law Review website If you require legal or professional advice kindly contact an attorney or other suitable professional advisor Some states have laws and ethical rules regarding solicitation and advertisement practices by attorneys and/or other professionals. 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This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Message from the CEO About CIPO 2021−2022 by the numbers Advancing innovation Delivering quality and timely IP rights Building IP awareness and education Offering a modern service experience An agile and high-performing organization Next steps Additional information Download the 2021-2022 Annual Report (PDF, 3.9 MB 32 pages) To obtain a copy of this publication, or to receive it in an alternate format (Braille, large print, etc.), please fill out the Publication Request form or contact: Fiscal year 2021–2022 marked the last year of CIPO's 2017–2022 Five-Year Business Strategy It was a year to take stock and celebrate our successes The pandemic has shaped our collective behaviours and expectations and has served as an accelerator for technological and socio-economic change that was already in motion Canada's adherence to international IP treaties and the increasing value of intangible assets have led to a surge in demand for IP protection Innovation is becoming more complex and global in nature and Clients have come to count on online services and transactions that are fast CIPO staff have adapted to a remote work environment supported by technology and tools that allow them to do their jobs effectively and efficiently As we concluded the final year of our 5-year business strategy the changes to our operating environment have set the backdrop to establish new priorities for the next 5 years and bring CIPO into the future CIPO continued to focus on improving the timely delivery of quality IP rights and services Following an external audit of our patent processes we successfully maintained our ISO 9001:2015 certification demonstrating our commitment to quality and continuous improvement To address CIPO's growing inventory of trademark applications and reduce turnaround times we implemented a recovery plan to increase productivity and improve pendency at all stages of the registration process Initiatives such as the expansion of the Goods and Services Manual and new machine-learning solutions are showing early positive results CIPO also made great strides to provide convenient and seamless e-services putting clients at the heart of service improvements CIPO became one of the first IP offices in the world to issue entirely electronic patents A new trademarks e-service platform featuring automated and self-serve transactions was also introduced To both modernize and extend the reach of our IP awareness and education services we pivoted to digital and virtual approaches including a new podcast series titled Canadian IP Voices where IP professionals and stakeholders discuss IP issues and provide tips and tricks for navigating the IP process As CIPO aims to become a more data-driven organization we are enhancing the stewardship and governance of our data and continuing to expand our evidence base In collaboration with the National Research Council of Canada CIPO published a report titled Patenting to Fight Pandemics bringing to light Canadian patented inventions in the fields of therapeutics and vaccine development rapid detection and diagnosis and digital health We also hosted our 5th Annual IP Data and Research Conference disseminating leading IP research to an international audience of IP stakeholders As pandemic and travel restrictions persisted in 2021–2022 CIPO made the most of virtual tools to engage and collaborate with key international stakeholders share best practices and promote Canadian IP interests CIPO partnered with leading IP organizations in Canada to create the IP Village an initiative to help Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) better understand Continued collaboration with our international and domestic stakeholders will help ensure the ongoing provision of services that meet the needs of Canadian innovators and businesses as part of the Government of Canada Intellectual Property Strategy the College of Patent Agents and Trademarks Agents was established to regulate the patent and trademark agent profession This was an important step in advancing Canada's IP ecosystem by modernizing the professional oversight framework of patent and trademark agents and CIPO's expertise and assistance helped ensure a successful transfer of responsibilities 2021–2022 marked CIPO's second year operating in a pandemic environment and with a majority of our employees continuing to work remotely CIPO staff have demonstrated their agility and provided excellent and uninterrupted services in these challenging times The past 2 years have shown us that we can be nimble and innovative in the face of adversity and are able to overcome any challenge the future may bring we have begun to lay the groundwork for a modern and flexible workplace we also initiated a comprehensive review of our fee structure that will set the foundation for us to serve our clients with excellence and efficiency This article is an update to "Failure to launch: CIPO’s modernization efforts cause patent delays" the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) launched its new MyCIPO Patents online portal for filing as part of their modernization effort and alignment with the World Intellectual Property Office ST.27 Standard for the Exchange of Patent Legal Status Data Although full access to the new platform became available on October 1 Initial issues that appear to have been resolved included: New submissions made through the MyCIPO portal are now posted to the Canadian Patent Database (CPD) almost immediately there remains a significant backlog of unprocessed mail and fee payments as well as delays in issuance of routine correspondence CIPO has been providing updates through its ‘MyCIPO Patents - What to expect’ document posted online No specific updates have been provided for delayed late fee notices certificates of recordal for title changes and certificates of document registration there is a lack of information about the scope of the challenges that CIPO is facing internally and in particular the time periods over which each type of correspondence and fee payment is impacted Improper status indicators continue to plague the CPD A volume of applications is marked in error as abandoned despite timely submissions having been taken to keep such applications pending and in good standing we have noticed that some third-party service providers have been reluctant or unable to submit annual maintenance fee payments when applications and patents show as improperly abandoned or expired according to the CPD No timeline is available for resolving the erroneous status indicators CIPO has confirmed that submissions and/or fee payments have been received but cannot yet be processed CIPO appears to have no way rectify these issues on a case-by-case basis applications with an incorrect abandonment status dating to June 2024 could proceed to an incorrect lapsed (“dead”) status in June 2025 if processing of mail does not recommence by that time CIPO has discouraged submission of status checks through its online feedback form as the high volume of queries has necessitated reallocation of staff who would otherwise be working to clear the backlog concerned applicants and patentees may wish to submit status queries Status queries could also be considered for submissions made on applications with expedited status (e.g as CIPO is otherwise apparently unable to locate relevant correspondence within the backlog Status queries can elicit more informative replies if the date of a submission and/or fee payment is provided together with the transaction confirmation number. In our experience this information permits CIPO to locate and confirm receipt Issues arising from CIPO’s modernization over the summer and fall continue to have severe impacts BLG is monitoring the situation closely and will bring new issues to CIPO’s attention Please contact us if you require assistance in navigating these challenges patent owners in Canada will have access to a general system of patent term adjustment (PTA) The PTA system provides additional patent term to compensate patent owners for “unreasonable delays” by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) in issuing patents The details of the PTA system were recently finalized when the federal government registered amendments to the Patent Rules it appears that few patents are likely to qualify for additional term Canada was obligated to adopt a general system of PTA by January 1 though overall much the same as those proposed in May 2024 had some changes that responded to the feedback received The amended Patent Act and Patent Rules will come into force on January 1 we summarize the new PTA system and comment on why few patents are likely to qualify for additional term we highlight some of the changes that were made to the proposed PTA Rules from May 2024 to reach the final PTA Rules A patent owner must apply for PTA within three months of a patent issuing a patent must have a filing date on or after December 1 The “applicable day” depends on the type of patent application: for PCT applications the “applicable day” is the national phase entry date; for divisional applications the date the divisional application is submitted to CIPO); and in any other case (i.e. Calculating the duration of additional term The duration of the additional term is calculated as the number of days between the later of the anniversaries above and the patent’s issue date subtracted by “the number of days that is determined under the regulations.” If the duration of the additional term is zero or less The amended Patent Rules set out 38 time periods to subtract when calculating the additional term. As stated in the government’s Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement (RIAS) the subtracted periods include “days in periods that do not occur during the processing of periods that are not directly attributable to CIPO as well as periods that are attributable to the patent applicant.” Some highlights from the list of subtracted periods include the number of days: each day will only be subtracted once when calculating the duration of the additional term the patent owner must pay an application fee of $2,500 (standard) or $1,000 (small entity) maintenance fees of $1,000 (standard) or $400 (small entity) will be due on the 20th anniversary of the patent’s filing date and each subsequent anniversary until the additional term expires After receiving an application for PTA and the application fee the Commissioner will assess the patent’s initial eligibility for PTA the Commissioner will provide the patent owner with a preliminary determination of the duration of the additional term The patent owner will then have two months to make observations on the preliminary determination the Commissioner will either issue a certificate of additional term or dismiss the application (e.g. because the duration of the additional term is calculated as zero or less) The Commissioner must provide reasons for the determination of the duration of the additional term or the dismissal of the application “any person” can apply to have the Commissioner reconsider the duration of an additional term upon: (i) providing reasons why the additional term is too long and (ii) paying an application fee of $2,500 (standard) or $1,000 (small entity) a person may bring an action in the Federal Court for an order to shorten an additional term the Commissioner and the Federal Court can only shorten an additional term It appears that patent owners unhappy with the Commissioner’s determination of additional term will need to apply for judicial review to lengthen it CIPO estimates there will be approximately 140 PTA applications filed each year from 2026 to 2034.3 If so, that would be well under 1% of the patents granted in Canada each year.4 CIPO’s predictions are consistent with the authors’ expectation that there will be relatively few PTA applications filed in Canada few patents are likely to qualify for additional term even if the patent application was prosecuted diligently This is primarily because of the many days that must be subtracted when calculating the duration of the additional term including any time taken to respond to a notice from the Commissioner the PTA application and maintenance fees are much higher than most other fees paid during prosecution which may discourage PTA applications even where patent owners are entitled to additional term the government did make some notable changes to the PTA amendments to the Patent Rules proposed in May 2024 The authors would like to thank Daniel Wang for his contribution to preparing this IP monitor please contact your IP professional at Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP For a complete list of our IP team, click here In July 2022 the UK Secondary Capital Raising Review published its report (Report) setting out a series of bold and wide-ranging recommendations for improving the secondary capital raising regime in the UK designed to make it quicker more inclusive of retail investors and more cost-effective as well as moving towards digitisation and making better use of technology This briefing forms part of a series looking in detail at the SRA’s guidance for in-house teams issued following a thematic review of the sector recognising the growth and importance of the in-house role and the unique pressures to which in-house solicitors can be subject The United States and Ukraine governments have announced the signature of an agreement of a minerals deal for Ukraine Subscribe and stay up to date with the latest legal news The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) will launch a pilot project requiring trademark owners to prove active use of their trademarks or risk losing their registrations CIPO will require trademark owners to demonstrate the active use of their trademarks in Canada led by the Trademarks Opposition Board (TMOB) 45 notices under the Trademarks Act to registered trademark owners Those who cannot provide evidence of use risk losing their registrations The Registrar of Trademarks aims to address inefficiencies in the trademark system by targeting trademarks that may no longer be in use This initiative ensures the Canadian Register of Trademarks accurately reflects active trademarks reducing obstacles for businesses seeking to register new marks trademarks that are registered but unused can complicate the registration process and impede fair competition by creating unnecessary barriers for businesses during trademark clearance searches By maintaining a register that reflects only active trademarks and their accurate scope of use the registrar seeks to uphold the integrity of Canada's trademark system Phase 1 of the pilot project will involve issuing monthly batches of s 45 notices to randomly selected trademark registrations that have been on the register for over three years These notices will require trademark owners to submit evidence of use or justify non-use due to exceptional circumstances Registrations selected for review will include various types such as those based on actual use in Canada The registrar has introduced new tools and updates to s A guide and sample affidavit will be available to assist trademark owners in preparing their responses Trademark owners must correlate evidence with specific goods or services associated with the registration In clear cases where the evidence demonstrates ongoing use the registrar may discontinue proceedings with the owner's consent Hearings may also be scheduled at mutually convenient times to simplify the process for trademark owners CIPO plans to publish data on this pilot project alongside information about s the TMOB will consult stakeholders about continuing the project and making potential adjustments such as targeting specific types of registrations or introducing investigative measures before issuing notices Sign In Register The Better Business Bureau (BBB) serving Mainland BC is urging businesses to stay on alert for what seems like an unscrupulous attempt to take your hard earned dollars or information. BBB has received a number of reports from businesses saying they were contacted by an email or text that claimed that their trademark or company name was at risk of being lost The business said that they were told that if they didn’t act fast and contact this business to get their name back or to defend the use of their trademark that they could be out thousands of dollars in legal fees and lost profits Just recently a Metro Vancouver business shared their experience with an attempted trademark phishing scam to the BBB Here is an excerpt of the scammers message to the business "Immediate action is crucial to protect your intellectual property rights and prevent any further unauthorized use of your brand name We are prepared to swiftly proceed with filing your trademark application and opposing the applicant's registration on your behalf Please understand that once the applicant's classes are paid for with CIPO our ability to intervene effectively will be limited." "You have worked hard to protect your brand and trademark, so getting a message like this out of the blue, might be very frightening for a business," said BBB spokesperson Neesha Hothi. "We want to remind businesses who are contacted to do your own research, and if you do feel like you need a trademark professional, start with a business who displays the sign of a better business, aka a BBB Accredited Business, who can help with these types of legal matters." The BBB wants to help protect your business. Here are five tips on how to handle a potential scam: Never send personal information to a suspicious email or stranger Hover your mouse over links without clicking to see if the address is truly from the corresponding address While email scams are growing, phishing can also be sent through the mail. They can look like official corresponding but ultimately are attempting to scam your businesses’ checkbook. In Canadian patent law, an inventor is both i) the person who first conceives of the invention and ii) the person that sets the conception into practical shape2 it is also important to consider whether an inventor under Canada’s patent law must be human The issue of AI inventorship came before the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (U.K which concerned two patent applications whose inventions were autonomously created by an AI program called DABUS Court ruled that inventorship was limited to natural persons and so AI-devised material could not qualify as an invention since Thaler claimed that DABUS was autonomous Court held that Thaler did not have the right to apply for ownership of the patents himself. The author of a copyrighted work is the person who expresses the work in its original form4. Traditionally, only humans have been listed as authors of registered works; however, in 2021 CIPO registered an AI program and a human as co-authors of an image called SURYAST5 generates its outputs based on images provided by users SURYAST was generated using two images: an urban photograph taken by the human creator The user also selected a numerical value representing the degree to which one image’s “style” transferred to the other the Canadian government has yet to publish a formal position on the interplay of patent rights and computer-generated inventions With respect to copyright, however, the Canadian government published Consultation on Copyright in the Age of Generative Artificial Intelligence in 2023 to examine copyright policy considerations in the context of Gen AI Earlier this year, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published Inventorship Guidance for AI-Assisted Inventions to clarify the extent to which AI programs can contribute to patentable inventions These guidelines follow two USPTO decisions in 2020 which denied petitions from two related patent applications seeking to name an AI system as an inventor on the basis that inventorship is limited to natural persons solely AI-created inventions are categorically unpatentable the guidance stipulates that AI-assisted inventions can still be patentable if a human makes significant contributions to the invention only the human would be listed as an inventor With respect to copyright, in 2023, the United States Copyright Office published a set of guidance entitled Copyright Registration Guidance: Works Containing Material Generated by Artificial Intelligence The guidance directs the Office to determine whether the AI’s role in the work’s creation was: (i) merely assistive to human authorship or (ii) responsible for executing the traditional elements of authorship the work is registerable under the human author; in situation (ii) the work lacks human authorship and is therefore unregistrable Most jurisdictions have yet to fully address the nuances at the intersection of AI and IP rights Those interested in registering AI-generated inventions or works should monitor the regulatory landscape as it continues to develop This publication is a general discussion of certain legal and related developments and should not be relied upon as legal advice we would be pleased to discuss the issues in this publication with you in the context of your particular circumstances For permission to republish this or any other publication, contact Janelle Weed. Konstantinos Georgaras is the Chief Executive Officer at the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) Georgaras provides strategic direction and leadership to CIPO and ensures the provision of world-class intellectual property (IP) services by granting IP rights and providing IP awareness and information He also represents CIPO and Canada's interests As Director General of Corporate Strategies and Services administrative and operational policy related to the IP framework that CIPO administers He also provided expert advice on broader IP policy analysis policy development and framework modernization He led the Canadian delegation on various bilateral and multilateral initiatives such as strategic World Intellectual Property Organization committees the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation's IP committee and other fora to develop and advance Canadian IP positions and interests internationally Georgaras led an extensive program of professional economic research and analysis to identify and evaluate national and international trends and developments plans and initiatives to support Canada's IP policy He also led the development of strategic partnerships Georgaras began his career in the public service in 1985 and has held strategic and executive positions within the departments of Innovation Science and Economic Development Canada and Human Resources and Skills Development Canada and within the Science Georgaras has extensive experience spanning strategic insolvency and industrial and labour market policies Georgaras holds a Master of Arts in Public Administration from Carleton University and an Executive Certificate in Public Leadership from the John F Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University The Federal Court dismissed an application to reinstate two expired industrial design registrations ruling that the non-payment of maintenance fees was due to errors by the applicant's agents rather than failures in the Canadian Intellectual Property Office's (CIPO) systems a US-based company specializing in designing and selling construction barges these registrations required a maintenance fee payment by October 22 with a six-month grace period ending April 22 CIPO marked the registrations as expired on May 12 Poseidon claimed that its legal representatives attempted to make the payments in October 2020 but encountered technical issues with CIPO's online payment system they argued that CIPO did not correctly process renewal instructions sent by facsimile The Federal Court examined whether it had jurisdiction under s 22 of the ID Act to amend the Register of Industrial Designs Section 22 allows the court to rectify omissions or incorrect entries in the register if they were made "without sufficient cause." Poseidon provided affidavit evidence from its legal counsel and an engineering expert to support its claim that payment attempts failed due to CIPO's systems the court found that Poseidon's arguments were based on hearsay and lacked direct evidence The Federal Court found that the evidence did not support Poseidon's claim that CIPO's online payment system prevented the transaction Screenshots provided by Poseidon's legal counsel lacked timestamps and showed a software version that was not in use on the relevant date The court concluded that the searches likely took place after the designs expired explaining the error messages in the screenshots the court determined that no material evidence showed the successful transmission of payment instructions via facsimile The facsimile records provided by Poseidon's counsel referenced "patents" rather than industrial designs Without confirmation that the faxes were successfully received and processed by CIPO the court could not conclude that the agency had failed in its duties The court also rejected Poseidon's request for an order retroactively extending the payment deadline mandating the automatic expiration of an industrial design registration if the applicant fails to pay maintenance fees on time The court determined it had no jurisdiction to override this statutory requirement The court ultimately dismissed Poseidon's application finding that the non-payment of maintenance fees was due to errors by Poseidon's agents rather than CIPO's system failures The legislation to implement Canada’s new system of Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) has been registered with the Privy Counsel and has published The system will come into effect on January 1 Canada is required to implement PTA in 2025 to offset administrative delay in granting patents under the terms of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) Draft amendments to Canada’s Patent Rules were published earlier in the year The final legislation contains few changes of substance meaning that additional term will not be available for the vast majority of patents A patent will be eligible for PTA if the underlying application was filed on or after December 1 2020 and if the patent is granted after the later of: These timing requirements mean that no patent granted prior to December 2 The patentee must submit a request for PTA with the applicable fee within three months of the date of grant of the patent The fee is C$2,500 (C$1,000 for small entities) The duration of the adjustment is calculated from a start date which is the later of the bulleted dates listed above minus “days to be subtracted” There are 38 categories of days to be subtracted This makes the calculation of PTA extremely onerous in particular because not all information required for the calculation is straightforwardly presented on the Canadian Patents Database (CPD) Days that fall in more than one category are counted only once If the days to be subtracted result in a negative value then the term of PTA is considered to be zero days days to be subtracted that fall prior to the examination request are not counted if the date of the examination request is more than two years from the date of national phase entry date (for a PCT application) the filing date (for a non-PCT application) or the presentation date (for a divisional application) it may be desirable to delay requesting examination such as requesting examination closer to the deadline in order to give CIPO the shortest period of examination time CIPO will issue a notice containing a preliminary determination of the duration of the adjusted term The patentee and any other party may then submit observations within two months prior to issuance of a certificate of PTA or dismissal notice If the patent has been granted a Certificate of Supplementary Protection (CSP) the period of PTA will run concurrently with patent term restored under the CSP regime This regime applies to certain types of patents for pharmaceutical and biotechnology inventions and addresses delays in obtaining marketing authorization the patentee will be required to pay an annual maintenance fee on the anniversary of the filing date This fee is currently set at C$1,000 (C$400 for small entities) for each of the 20th and subsequent anniversaries If a patent is listed on the Patent Register under Canada’s linkage regime (the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance Regulations or NOC Regulations) the Minister of Health must be informed of the expiry date of any PTA term granted in respect of the patent the patentee is obligated to report the PTA expiry date to the Patented Medicines Prices Review Board (PMPRB) within 30 days The PMPRB’s jurisdiction over pricing will apply to the adjusted term an application will no longer be entitled to expedited examination status.This does not apply to RCEs made prior to January 1 nor to applications with fast-track status under the Patent Prosecution Highway The legislation also provides a corrective mechanism to remove claims inadvertently added during examination This requires the applicant to file a statement confirming the amendment was made in error along with amendments to remove the claims The submission must be made without undue delay and correction is at the discretion of the Commissioner of Patents PTA will only be available in rare circumstances of outstanding delay at CIPO due the lengthy time period allocated to CIPO for examination and the fact that action by the applicant does not affect the basic three-year examination time period available to the Examiner Message from the CEO Building IP awareness and education CIPO's IP awareness and education services is a key component of Canada's IP Strategy CIPO delivered IP awareness and education services to help Canadian businesses innovators and underrepresented groups such as women and Indigenous peoples consider IP and recognize its importance in growing their businesses and issues relating to the use of trademarks Listeners get to hear real problems—and real solutions—explained by a range of IP professionals and stakeholders across Canada and abroad CIPO released 14 episodes on topics including IP in the cannabis industry CIPO continued to pivot its IP awareness and education services to digital approaches CIPO developed new digital IP awareness and education tools and resources to help Canadian businesses and entrepreneurs unlock the value of their IP by using it strategically when growing to scale CIPO also expanded its offerings to include new e-learning modules CIPO hosted a number of webinars on a variety of topics Aligning with the theme of World IP Day 2021 (IP and SMEs: Taking your ideas to market) launched a pre-recorded webinar on IP commercialization highlighting some of the key skills and steps to commercialize ideas through partnering CIPO hosted a webinar on the importance of IP in innovation Participants learned about the elements and considerations in developing an IP strategy in order to help them extract value from their IP protect their innovations or take their business abroad members of the Patent Appeal Board participated in an IPIC webinar to share their insights on how best to represent client matters before the Board the Trademarks Opposition Board hosted a webinar to share best practices when conducting opposition proceedings concerning Madrid Protocol applications that teaches participants how to effectively manage IP assets and build an IP strategy to achieve business goals and gain a competitive advantage This e-learning module is intended for SMEs that want to learn the fundamentals of an IP strategy have registered or applied for IP rights or are looking to export their products or services in foreign markets Building on content available on the CIPO website CIPO published a new web page on Canadian IP resources for small businesses It provides a list of resources to help small businesses protect and commercialize their IP a new factsheet on software and IP and 3 new IP roadmaps on geographical indication objection proceedings trademark expungement proceedings and opposition proceedings As we continued to operate in a pandemic environment CIPO focused on extending its reach virtually by strengthening established regional and national networks and partnerships new partnerships were developed with associations and businesses in strategic and innovative sectors IP is a crucial business tool at all stages of a company's development To help Canadian SMEs better understand how to use IP more effectively leading IP organizations in Canada came together to create the IP Village a collaboration between CIPO and the Business Development Bank of Canada Global Affairs Canada's Trade Commissioner Service the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada (IPIC) the National Research Council (NRC) of Canada's Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) and Innovation Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) This initiative leverages existing partnerships to build a working group where best practices practical intelligence and questions and answers are shared The first deliverable of the IP Village was a series of 5 webinars entitled IP Talks that covered the typical life cycle of IP (creating government support (funding and assistance) and key considerations when expanding a business in global markets CIPO co-hosted a virtual event in collaboration with the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business Titled Indigenous Business and IP: Ensuring the Indigenous Economy's Continued Competitiveness and Growth the event was attended by more than 70 participants It featured a panel discussion with successful Indigenous entrepreneurs who shared their stories about how they leverage their IP to grow their businesses CIPO partnered with WIPO to co-host the Canadian series of roving webinars on WIPO services and initiatives which were attended by hundreds of participants from around the world The event featured a series of short interactive webinars with experts from both WIPO and CIPO as well as Canadian IP professionals and provided insightful information on IP protection through the international IP system and other WIPO initiatives Because the first series of roving webinars was designed for a national context the webinars focused on Canada's IP landscape and gave an overview of WIPO services available to Canadian businesses CIPO continued to work closely with its existing partners to better equip innovators in leveraging their IP portfolios We provided a number of presentations and training sessions to our national partners such as NRC–IRAP Global Affairs Canada's Canadian Technology Accelerator and the Canadian Foreign Services Institute CIPO also renewed its MOU with NRC–IRAP and formalized a new partnership with the Ontario Centre for Innovation CIPO continued to be at the heart of the IP and innovation conversation in Canada CIPO participated in a number of virtual conferences notably the Smart Energy Event and the Intellectual Property International Forum – Quebec CIPO also held various presentations with regional organizations the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises in the Prairies Region the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade and chambers of commerce from coast to coast to coast CIPO's IP advisors across the country met virtually with more than 676 entrepreneurs and innovators to answer their IP questions and provide tailored IP resources It is a great honour to present the IP Canada Report 2023 the eighth instalment of an annual series started in 2016 by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) The series provides an overview of intellectual property (IP) activity in Canada and abroad by Canadians and presents some of our data and research endeavours the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to present the latest IP trends in Canada we launched CIPO's 2023–2028 Five-Year Business Strategy which advances the Government of Canada's implementation of the IP Strategy and supports navigating change and preparing for a future that requires our office be agile As an integral part of the national IP Strategy the objectives set forth in our Business Strategy are focused on providing Canadian innovators and businesses with the services and support they need to thrive in a rapidly evolving world ensuring that the Canada's IP system is modern and connected CIPO plays a fundamental role in providing evidence to support the federal government in delivering its mandate through collaborative work with the Canadian and international IP research and policy community The data and research priorities identified in our Business Strategy are reflected in our IP Data & Research Agenda our medium-term plan for IP data and research endeavours the IP Data & Research Agenda advances our Business Strategy's priority of working with domestic and international partners to understand equity and inclusion (EDI) in the society we serve The IP Canada Report 2023 addresses knowledge gaps in this area by including an analysis prepared by Statistics Canada (StatCan) on patenting among Canadian enterprises by the gender of the business owner This is one of many initiatives aiming to understand barriers to inclusion and ultimately support EDI groups such as women and Black entrepreneurs in their path to success Our IP Data & Research Agenda has also placed an emphasis on addressing data gaps and identifying cutting-edge data-science techniques to overcome such challenges This report includes a summary of our advances in extracting valuable information from trademark applications which will ultimately help us understand how Canadian businesses adapt and grow during challenging economic periods these reports are possible thanks to the analysts working at CIPO and the collaboration of our external stakeholders I am honoured to bring to you this year's report For more information on the research included in this report, email cipo-ipresearch-opic-recherchepi@ised-isde.gc.ca Aussi offert en français sous le titre Rapport sur la PI au Canada 2023 Canadian Intellectual Property Office’s (CIPO) proposed amendments to the Trademarks Regulations were published in the Canada Gazette These amendments are intended to implement changes made to the Trademarks Act (the Act) in the Budget Implementation Act that have not yet come into force because these corresponding amendments to the Trademarks Regulations (the Regulations) are needed A Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement (RIAS) is included in respect of the Trademarks Regulations it should be noted that this statement is not part of the Regulations The proposed amendments cover the following areas: The changes are intended to promote a more efficient and cost-effective manner of proceeding before the Trademarks Opposition Board (TMOB) and to allow those applying for trademark registrations to efficiently overcome objections raised on the basis of official Marks The proposed amendments provide the circumstances under which the Registrar may award costs including in the case where a party engages in unreasonable conduct that causes undue delay or expense in the proceeding This appears to be a broad circumstance that will likely be the subject of many submissions until the Registrar issues decisions providing guidance as to the parameters The proposed amendments also set out the manner and timing of a request for costs The costs awards are provided as a multiplier of a fee set out in a specified item of the schedule to the Regulations costs of $2775 can be awarded in a proceeding under section 45 of the Trademarks Act where a party engages in unreasonable conduct which causes undue delay or expense in the proceeding It is possible that costs awards calculated under these Regulations may be higher than costs awards in some trademark proceedings in Federal Court The proposed amendments provide a costs regime that is different than that of the Federal Courts in which costs are awarded to the successful party The proposed amendments appear to make it the objective of the costs awards to discourage inappropriate conduct rather than to compensate a successful party for a portion of their legal expenditure Inappropriate conduct in Federal Court tends to be sanctioned by an increase or decrease in the amount of costs a refusal to award costs to a successful party the proposed amendments seek to provide a process by which a party to a proceeding before the TMOB can request an Order that some evidence be kept confidential The proposed amendments set out the information that would need to be provided in order to support a request for a Confidentiality Order including a description of the evidence that the party wishes to be kept confidential and the reasons why the evidence should be kept confidential Protective orders and confidentiality orders have been the subject of many decisions in the Federal Court and Federal Court of Appeal an affidavit from a representative of a party is required to convince the Court of the true confidential nature of the evidence and the expected (i.e. not speculative) harm if the evidence were not to be kept confidential in order for a Confidentiality Order to be granted the proposed amendments provide to the Registrar a seemingly broad power to give any direction or make any order to deal with certain proceedings in a cost-effective and efficient manner the proposed amendments provide that the Registrar may on its own initiative or at the request of a person who pays a prescribed fee to give public notice that the provision related to Official Marks does not apply with respect to a particular mark in specific circumstances The consultation is open until 11:59 EDT on July 8, 2024. Comments can be provided directly in the Canada Gazette, Part I There are fields after each section in which to input comments of no more than 20,000 characters It should be noted that all comments will be posted in Canada Gazette’s website following the consultation period Beyond administering intellectual property (IP) rights and disseminating IP data and research the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) advocates for Canada's IP interests both domestically and internationally advances IP harmonization and supports the negotiation and implementation of trade agreements CIPO contributes to the effective functioning of the IP system entrepreneurs and businesses grow and prosper in domestic and global markets Canada is a major international destination and source of IP rights trademarks and industrial designs are coming to CIPO from applicants around the world and from Canadian residents and are filed in other jurisdictions by Canadians Figure 1 is a Sankey diagram that maps the flow of IP applications into Canada by origin and out of Canada by destination The centre of the diagram shows a representation of the Canadian flag with IP applications to Canada on the left side and IP applications from Canada on the right side Each side shows flow bars for the top 9 filing origins or destinations as well as a flow bar for all remaining countries combined The width of the flow bars is proportional to the number of IP applications to or from that jurisdiction 69,793 trademark applications were filed with CIPO 27,963 applications were from Canadian residents According to WIPO, in Canada, trademark examiners process an average of 2,000 applications (PDF version, 189 KB, 2 pages) in a year, compared to just over 1,000 in the United States(PDF version The top foreign destination for Canadian trademark applicants was the United States which we can attribute to the fact that Canadians tend to expand their businesses into the United States due to the larger market there Canada has launched new initiatives to help Canadians understand the value of their IP and build IP strategies: Several changes proposed on forthcoming PTA in Canada Canada must implement a patent term adjustment (PTA) framework to offset administrative delay in granting patents under the terms of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement Changes are needed to the proposed regulations under the Patent Act to specify how the PTA operates if the government is to fulfil its international obligations under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement according to the CBA’s Intellectual Property Section CUSMA’S Article 20.44 requires parties to compensate patentees for “unreasonable delays” in patent issuance But how “unreasonable delays” are defined is rather stringent and effectively implements a “zero delay” policy “The CBA Section is concerned that the PTA regime as set out in the Patent Act and the Proposed Regulations fails to fulfill Canada’s CUSMA obligation to restore lost patent term,” reads the submission Such a policy “fails to recognize the practical challenges faced by applicants and patent lawyers coordination amongst legal teams and potential logistical challenges for international applicants that must contend with time zone differences,” the letter says The CBA submission points out that the proposed regulations establish a difficult time-consuming and costly process for patentees to get compensated for unreasonable delays This process shifts the burden from the entity that causes the delay (the Canadian Intellectual Property Office or CIPO) to the patentee suffering from it The CBA submission questions why the regulations allow for third-party input or observations on the PTA term calculation as this would only prolong what is an already complicated procedure for applicants The Section also notes the absence of provisions that would “permit adjusting maintenance fees to be proportional to the time that is remaining of the adjusted term.” The Section offers a few more recommendations to the government: Read the submission The CBA’s Immigration Law Section outlines practical suggestions to improve efficiency Two sections of the CBA team up with the Canadian Council for Refugees to propose a unique cost-effective solution for the federal government to address the prolonged separation of refugee families The CBA's Competition Law and Foreign Investment Review Section offers recommendations to the consultation on the future of competition policy in Canada National Magazine is the official periodical of the Canadian Bar Association and covers the latest trends and developments affecting the legal profession and the practice of law, as well as the latest news regarding the association and its activities. If you have suggestions, ideas or requests concerning this Web site or the magazine, please send us an e-mail at national@cba.org. Registrar of Trademarks and Chief Executive Officer at the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) gave a keynote address at the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Intellectual Property Institute (IPIC) in which she provided an update on the expected date for the implementation in Canada of the Nice Madrid and Singapore international trademark treaties which are set to significantly overhaul and modernize the existing trademark legislative landscape the Nice Classification is still intended to be included in Canadian law shortly during the Fall of 2015 while the Singapore Treaty and Madrid Protocol are now set to be implemented in early 2018 (as compared to initial estimates of late 2015/early 2016) thus pushing back the estimated date of entry into force of the amendments to the Trademarks Act The UK remains a world leader in offshore wind accounting for roughly 20 percent of global offshore wind capacity It is forecast that installed capacity will rise to 19.5 GW by mid 2020s Ten things to know about insurance regulation in 19 countries The Insurathon is a Norton Rose Fulbright event which fosters technological advancements and innovation in the insurance sector Message from the CEO About us Executive summary Introduction Patents Trademarks Industrial designs Plant breeders' rights Data-driven trademark classification for IP research Conclusion Appendix A Appendix B I am pleased to present the IP Canada Report 2022 the seventh instalment of an annual series initiated in 2016 by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) The objective of these reports is to provide an analysis of intellectual property (IP) activity in Canada and by Canadians featuring key insights from our ongoing data and research endeavours This report presents the latest IP trends for Canada and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) These insights do more than informing decision-making processes; they demonstrate CIPO's proficiency in conducting rigorous IP and innovation research and developing cutting-edge data science methodologies CIPO continues to adopt a collaborative approach with its Canadian and international research partners This collaboration enriches our ability to generate evidence-based insights that aid decision-makers in navigating the opportunities associated with IP CIPO has been committed to understanding the effects of lockdown measures and their resulting economic upheavals on IP users and innovators The IP Canada Report 2022 highlights the resilience and adaptability of Canadian businesses To discern the sectors that flourished or struggled amidst the crisis CIPO employed sophisticated data techniques to analyze trademark application data and in line with the Government of Canada's commitment to a green recovery and combating climate change this report includes an overview of CIPO's ongoing research into patent activity within the clean technology sectors CIPO's Five-Year Business Strategy came to an end The plan was shaped by national IP Strategy activities in support of the Government's Innovation and Skills Plan which aims to transform Canada into a global innovation hub Key achievements during this period included implementing international treaties such as the Hague Agreement These treaties connect Canada's IP system to the world high-quality IP rights that will be recognized across jurisdictions CIPO made significant strides in its Data & Research Agenda through collaboration with Innovation we conducted the first nation-wide survey to assess use and awareness of IP among Canadian firms and understand the economic impacts and contributions of IP These annual reports are possible thanks to CIPO's talented researchers and data scientists and the invaluable support of our research partners It is my privilege to present to you the IP Canada Report 2022 the information in this publication may be reproduced without charge or further permission from the Department of Innovation provided that due diligence is exercised in ensuring the accuracy of the information reproduced; that the Department of Innovation Science and Economic Development is identified as the source institution; and that the reproduction is not represented as an official version of the information reproduced or as having been made in affiliation with For permission to reproduce the information in this publication for commercial purposes, please fill out the Application for Crown Copyright Clearance or contact the ISED Citizen Services Centre mentioned above Ⓒ His Majesty the King in Right of Canada as represented by the Department of Innovation Aussi offert en français sous le titre Rapport sur la PI au Canada 2022 Message from the CEO About CIPO Business priorities 2022-2023 by the numbers Be a high-performing organization that is built for the future The way forward Additional information Download the 2022-2023 Annual Report (PDF, 3.3 MB 39 pages) Over the past year, CIPO continued to deliver IP awareness and education services, building on the digital and virtual approaches that were instituted during the pandemic and increasing outreach through our existing partnerships and collaborations. We further added to our suite of digital tools with new e-learning modules to assist Canadian businesses and entrepreneurs in unlocking the value of their IP. Working together with leading IP organizations from across the country on the "IP Village" has also provided a forum where thought leadership practices, practical intelligence and best practices are shared. On the international stage, CIPO renewed and established new memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with international partners to advance IP issues of mutual interest, and we continued to be an active member of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), helping to strengthen IP regimes worldwide and ensure the best possible service for CIPO clients and Canadians. With an eye to the future, we are strategically aligning our resources to our operational service needs. To account for not having adjusted our fees in nearly 20 years, we have proposed an increase to fees for most CIPO services. The updated fees will allow us to continue serving clients with excellence and efficiency, while ensuring our long-term financial sustainability. I am very proud of the work we have accomplished over the past year. We are laying the groundwork for the CIPO of the future—a modern office that is an integral part of the IP ecosystem. I look forward to the future as we continue to foster innovation and success for Canadians and make Canada a global centre for innovation. but just to spend some time with family or friends in an environment closer to nature a village hotel should not just provide accommodation; it is also an opportunity to create a tiny world for people to linger around or explore and this is what we’ve tried to achieve in this project A well-designed village hotel can also be an ideal place for a brief episode of collective living You'll now receive updates based on what you follow Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors If you have done all of this and still can't find the email “It's just a natural outcome of the fundamental R&D that we've been doing,” says Chief IP Counsel Bob Giles about the company’s high ranking for 2023 patent grants Register to receive our newsletter and gain limited access to subscriber content expert analysis and essential resources from the IAM experts Copyright © Law Business ResearchCompany Number: 03281866 VAT: GB 160 7529 10 Unlock unlimited access to all IAM content Our experience and focused expertise help you achieve your business goals View all Expertise Explore our insights and analysis of the legal developments impacting your business View all Insights Leading the way in Canadian business law for over 160 years About Us Overview See how our people are making a difference at Osler Home Insights Osler Updates CIPO is set to substantially increase official fees for patents industrial designs and copyrights on January 1 CIPO does not receive funding for its operations from the Government of Canada and is fully funded through revenues generated through service fees The upcoming increases in official fees are intended to address revenue deficiencies and adjust for inflation. The official fees will increase by at least about 25% with some fee increases being more substantial requests for examination and payment of final fees on patent applications which will see increases of about 36% for standard entities the substantial fee increases primarily effect standard fees; most small entity fees will be subject to only modest increases The table below summarizes the CIPO official fee increases for commonly paid fees: + each additional class of goods/services intellectual property owners may wish to undertake certain actions requiring payment of official fees prior to January 1 2024 to take advantage of the current fees and avoid the upcoming fee increases Please contact a member of our Intellectual Property Group if you require further information, or have questions about how these fee increases will affect you or your clients’ Canadian intellectual property matters https://www.osler.com/en/expertise/services/intellectual-property) The decision serves as a reminder of the potential consequences of failing to manage IP diligently within large infrastructure projects We examine the amendments to the Trademarks Act and Trademarks Regulations coming into force on April 1 Subscribe to Osler Insights to stay informed on issues impacting your business Osler is a leading business law firm practising internationally from offices across Canada and in New York Our clients include industry and business leaders in all segments of the market and at various stages in the growth of their businesses We have built our reputation on our commitment to our clients' success and the experience expertise and collaborative approach for which we are recognized We believe that our success is a reflection of our clients' success Privacy Policy Disclaimer Client Service Terms Terms of Use Accessibility Media Contact the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) introduced a change to its practice with respect to industrial designs applied to buildings and structures CIPO now takes the position that buildings and structures may be eligible for design protection This recent extension of industrial design protection to buildings and structures may affect parties who are involved in their design and construction Understanding how this change in practice—with respect to the industrial design system in Canada—complements the existing Canadian copyright regime will be key for governing existing and future relationships between these parties Industrial designs in Canada are governed by the Industrial Design Act (IDA) of 1985 an industrial design application must be prepared and filed in accordance with the IDA If the formal and substantive requirements for a design are met The owner of the registration then enjoys protection of the industrial design for a period of 10 years from the date of registration or 15 years from the filing date of the application An industrial design is registrable in Canada if all of the following requirements are met: the design must not have been previously disclosed in such a manner that it became available to the public persons who publicly disclose their own industrial design have a 12-month grace period to submit an application for it to CIPO without jeopardizing their ability to register their design The recent change in practice follows a comprehensive review by CIPO of Canada’s industrial design framework and the relevant case law the change brings Canada in line with other jurisdictions where design patents for buildings and other on-site structures have long been available the Statue of Liberty was protected by a design patent back in 1879 The change in practice also applies retroactively to pending industrial design applications as per Canada’s Industrial Design Office Practice Manual (IDOP) No additional criteria specific to buildings and structures are required and these applications will be processed similarly to all other applications Given that a registration provides a monopoly on reproducing the protected industrial design the change in practice may prove valuable to parties that construct buildings and structures with particularly distinctive and notable designs the owner of an industrial design registration controls the use of the protected design and can influence any proliferation or restriction of the design in other buildings and structures Revisions and the existing copyright regime architectural works have already long enjoyed protection under copyright law The Copyright Act of 1985 extends protection to works that are original artistic and creative expressions fixed in a material form and are produced through an exercise of skill and judgment such works may include architectural plans and drawings as well as the artistic expression embodied in the building itself the Canadian industrial design system can be used to protect the unique visual appearance or ornamentation applied to a building or structure industrial design protection may overlap with certain design features already protected by copyright but may also apply to other design features not currently protected by copyright developers and architects to turn their minds to ownership and control of industrial design rights in addition to copyright when entering contracts for the design and construction of buildings and structures Message from the CEO About us Executive summary Introduction Patents Trademarks Industrial designs Plant breeders' rights IP awareness and use among Canadians The growth of standard-essential patents Conclusion Appendix A Appendix B Download the IP Canada Report 2021 (PDF, 8.2 MB; 59 pages) Ø Copy of this publication [same format as this page] It is a great honour to present the Intellectual Property Canada Report 2021 the sixth installment of an annual series that the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) started in 2016 providing an overview of intellectual property (IP) activity in Canada and abroad by Canadians This report relies on data from both CIPO and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to present trends and key statistics that support decision making it demonstrates CIPO's proficiency in developing data-driven approaches to undertake both economic research and IP analytics we believe that IP research and data analysis play a key role in providing the required evidence to support the decision-making process that leads to economic success We achieve this through collaborative inquiry into IP issues with the Canadian and international research and policy community CIPO dedicated its research capabilities to understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on IP activity and how Canadian organizations are responding to this crisis IP research is helping us understand trends and adjust to evolving demands for serving Canadians The IP Canada Report 2021 highlights areas where IP helped businesses adapt and ultimately succeed during this time of economic challenge This year's report also includes 2 special features showcasing CIPO's capabilities The first provides a detailed and intuitively presented analysis of IP awareness and use along the innovation path The second examines standard-essential patents these reports are possible thanks to the research carried out at CIPO and the collaboration of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency I am pleased to bring to you this year's report For more information on the research included in this report, email CIPO-IPResearch-OPIC-RecherchePI@ISED-ISDE.gc.ca Aussi offert en français sous le titre Rapport sur la PI au Canada 2021 "[Amazon has] a lot of resources that can help businesses especially small and medium-sized businesses Canadian IP Voices is a podcast where we talk about intellectual property (IP) with a range of professionals and stakeholders across Canada and abroad In episode 2, "Protect your IP in Amazon stores," Mary Beth Westmoreland Amazon's Vice President of Brand Protection talks about what Amazon does to protect sellers and their IP against infringement online and what new sellers need to know before they start selling their products on the platform but there are also challenges associated with e-commerce and IP we will discuss Amazon's new IP program and provide insights on important IP considerations for selling online and so many of them are entrepreneurs and inventors and small business owners who have unique and innovative products and we want to help them protect their brands Amazon's IP Accelerator helps entrepreneurs navigate the world of IP and mitigates many of the barriers SMEs face when pursuing formal rights and understanding the filing process in Canada and abroad building tools and features on its platform to allow businesses to better protect and grow their brand as part of this IP initiative Participating companies can even access the tools before their trademark registration is issued Ready to get started? Visit Amazon's IP Accelerator web page you should take the necessary steps to protect your business as well as ensuring that you are not infringing on the rights of others and applies to pictures and written materials on your website or social media It can also relate to software used to create computer programs To protect copyright and minimize the risk of infringing on the rights of others when selling on Amazon or any other platform you should consider the following questions: To recap, the process to obtain IP rights can feel intimidating and time consuming. However, Amazon's IP Accelerator program helps businesses secure trademark protection Whether you are selling on Amazon or another platform there are several IP-related factors you should consider when it comes to protecting your business but also to ensure that you are not infringing on the rights of others Metrics details Chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction (CIPO) is a severe and refractory intestinal motility disorder whose diagnosis currently relies on subjective imaging assessments Cine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may potentially improve the quantitative analysis of gastrointestinal motility; however suitable CIPO detection parameters should be determined Cine MRI was performed in seven patients with CIPO and 11 healthy controls The logarithm of the Mahalanobis distance (x1) and distance variation per time (x2) were used as the original parameters to determine CIPO diagnostic thresholds the correlation between cine MRI findings and CIPO severity was investigated Threshold values of α = 1.10 and β = 0.15 for x1 and x2 produced a CIPO diagnosis sensitivity of 1.00 (7/7) and specificity of 0.82 (9/11) The two parameters were correlated (Pearson’s correlation coefficient: − 0.52) Any of the intestinal tracts of patients with severe CIPO requiring home parenteral nutrition belonged to the region defined by x1 ≥ 1.10 and x2 ≤ 0.15 Cine MRI is effective for the quantitative evaluation of small intestinal motility and CIPO diagnosis when using the abovementioned parameters and can be useful for treatment decision-making these parameters have a wide distribution in healthy volunteers; this may complicate the detection of other disorders Typical radiological images of chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction including plain radiograph (a) and computed tomography (b) the aim of this study was to establish new parameters for cine MRI that would assist in the diagnosis of CIPO Imaging was performed using a 1.5-T MRI unit (SIGNA™ Creator coronal images of the entire abdomen were obtained to identify an appropriate imaging plane A steady-state free precession sequence (FIESTA sequence: repetition time = 3.6 ms and fat suppression = special [inversion time = 200 ms]) was used for imaging which allowed for continuous scanning without intervals for each image Three slice location were separately acquired sequential scanning was performed every 0.571 s with 35 images The patients held their breaths for 20 s All procedures involving human participants were performed in accordance with the principles of the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki Niigata university hospital review board approval was obtained (approval no: 2018-0403) and written informed consent was obtained from all patients Edge of the small intestine can be enhanced automatically using software Shown are (a) before enhancement and (b) afterward Process of extracting a two-dimensional feature vector from an intestinal tract of interest for a patient with chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction in magnetic resonance imaging At the corresponding location of the small intestinal tract, a line perpendicular to the long axis was drawn; this task was repeated for all sequential cine MRIs (Fig. 4) Using these diameters measured on 35 cine MRIs the criterion ${\mathrm{J}}_{\mathrm{t}}$ which evaluates the motility of an intestinal tract Luminal diameters of the small intestine (yellow line) are calculated using the software. This task was repeated for all sequential cine magnetic resonance imaging. The typical findings are shown as (a) (1st of the series), (b) (17th of the series), and (c) (35th of the series). Time variation of parameter J in a healthy volunteer (a) and a case of chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction (b) The Mahalanobis distance D(m) between the mean m of 35 luminal diameters of the intestinal tract of a patient and the volunteer distribution of means from healthy volunteers was defined as follows: where μ and σ2 are the sample mean and sample variance of the volunteer distribution The sample mean and sample variance were estimated using the means for each of the intestinal tracts of healthy volunteers we calculated the logarithm of the Mahalanobis distance D(m); thus any intestinal tract was represented as a two-dimensional vector whose components x1 and x2 were the logarithm of the Mahalanobis distance and distance variation per time These x1 and x2 are new cine MRI parameters the parameters x1 and x2 are called features Each intestinal tract was represented as a feature vector in a two-dimensional feature space (a) Scheme of assessment of intestinal motility It is deemed to have impaired motility if x1 ≥ α and x2 ≤ β An intestinal tract that had no impairment in motility satisfies the condition x1 < α or x2 > β which implies denial of the proposition x1 ≥ α and x2 ≤ β (b) The flowchart of cine-MRI diagnosis for chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction (CIPO) A patient is deemed to have CIPO if any of the intestinal tracts with impaired motility was detected Scheme of optimization of threshold values Seven patients with CIPO, including three men (42.9%) and four women (57.1%), whose age was 52 (38.5–54.5) years underwent cine MRI; their characteristics are shown in Table 1 The disease duration was 40.1 (36.6–118.8) months and all the patients were underweight (body mass index = 17.3 [16.2–18.2] kg/m2) and had abdominal distention Cine MRI examination was also performed on 11 healthy volunteers comprising six men (54.5%) and five women (45.5%) with an age of 35 (29.0–41.5) years Scatter diagram of the logarithm of the Mahalanobis distance (horizontal axis) and distance variation per time (vertical axis) in patients with chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction and healthy volunteers Scatter diagram for determining sensitivity and specificity in two-dimensional feature space (a) α = 1.10 and β = 0.15 can be used to obtain the best sensitivity for chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction (CIPO) diagnosis (b) α = 2.00 and β = 0.15 can be used to obtain the maximum specificity for CIPO diagnosis In patients with chronic intestinal obstruction the logarithm of the Mahalanobis distance and distance variation per time were inversely correlated We successfully established cine MRI parameters that could different iate patients with CIPO from healthy volunteers Our analysis also revealed that all patients with CIPO had impaired small intestinal motility We assumed that for the intestinal tracts from a patient with CIPO with the logarithm of the Mahalanobis distance x1 large The results showed that the negative correlation between x1 and x2 was observed only for patients with CIPO Although the feature vectors of healthy volunteers had widely distributed values in this study the threshold value of 1.10 for the parameter x1 was found to be satisfactory for CIPO diagnosis the luminal diameters were selected for analysis from all parts of the small intestine because we could not always measure these diameters in specific areas (i.e. and distal ileum) given that the analyses were performed on sliced views wherein certain parts of the small intestine were often in a blind spot and thus invisible Another drawback was that the intestines sliced horizontally or perpendicularly were not always captured given the small intestine’s tortuousness in the three-dimensional abdominal cavity A key finding in this study was that all patients with CIPO had impaired small intestinal motility lower colonic propulsion may have been impaired which further inhibited small bowel propagation the severity of CIPO was reflected in the cine MRI findings our calculated parameters may potentially be useful for clinical decision-making the parameters calculated for healthy volunteers had a wide range Further studies of cine MRI are required to reliably differentiate CIPO from other disorders although determining the definitive parameters is likely to be challenging and the extent of small intestinal contraction (peristalsis using cine MRI together with computer-assisted or artificial intelligence-driven diagnosis of gastrointestinal motility may have potential to accurately identify patients with CIPO although several drawbacks should be addressed (such as the limitations of sliced-based analysis) Although there was a bias in the selection of the intestinal tract and positioning of the luminal diameter we adopted the effective method of visually measuring only one measurement point one luminal diameter for each of the corresponding intestinal tracts Our study focused on small intestinal motility and colonic motility should be further explored in additional investigations The small intestine usually functions to move and clear its luminal contents before more food is ingested cine MRI may be unsuitable for the evaluation of colonic movement given its glacial pace Our study had several limitations that should be acknowledged only a small number of patients with CIPO were analyzed because of the rarity of this disorder data analysis between CIPO and healthy volunteers was limited Classification experiments were conducted using the α and β values optimized by the leave-one-out method with 18 samples The performance should be evaluated for independent test samples this remains one of the issues to be studied further we classified the severity of CIPO based on the required treatment; however severity is determined using a complicated scale in real-world clinical settings patient 7 had severe symptoms that were controlled with many medications and well-balanced meals the backgrounds of patients with CIPO and healthy volunteers which may also have affected intestinal motility our new cine MRI parameters have the potential to assist in the differential diagnosis of patients suspected of having CIPO The wide ranges of distributions for feature vectors of healthy volunteers may reflect the complicated function of the small intestine which should be elucidated using additional cine MRI studies in the future All data used in the study are already provided in the tables An epidemiologic survey of chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction and evaluation of the newly proposed diagnostic criteria Long-term outcome of chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction adult patients requiring home parenteral nutrition Advances in our understanding of the pathology of chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction New perspectives in the diagnosis and management of enteric neuropathies pathological and therapeutic features of human enteric neuropathies Sato, H. et al. Esophageal high-resolution manometry for diagnosing the severity of the chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction: A case series. Dig. Dis. Sci. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10620-020-06701-9 (2020) Measurement of gastrointestinal and colonic motor functions in humans and animals Expert consensus document: Advances in the diagnosis and classification of gastric and intestinal motility disorders Variation in small bowel transit time on capsule endoscopy Cardiovascular magnetic resonance: Applications and practical considerations for the general cardiologist Assessment of small bowel motility in patients with chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction using cine-MRI Fuyuki, A. et al. Clinical importance of cine-MRI assessment of small bowel motility in patients with chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction: A retrospective study of 33 patients. J. Gastroenterol. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00535-016-1251-8 (2016) Evaluation of gastrointestinal motility with MRI: Advances Fundamentals of Digital Image Processing (Prentice Hall Estimation of Error Rates in Discriminant Analysis (University of California at Los Angeles Prediction of early recurrence of liver cancer by a novel discrete Bayes decision rule for personalized medicine Investigation of the freely available easy-to-use software ‘EZR’ for medical statistics Gut movements: A review of the physiology of gastrointestinal transit Download references We would like to thank Editage [http://www.editage.com] for editing and reviewing this manuscript for English language This work was supported by JSPS Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research: Grant Nos Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Sciences and Technology for Innovation wrote the main manuscript text and performed volunteers’ recruitment The authors declare no competing interests Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations Download citation DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-02268-1 Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: a shareable link is not currently available for this article Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science Most contemporary structures are drawn out with such precision that there is seldom an inch unaccounted for nooks and in-between spaces that can offer opportunities for both creativity and an alternate way of experiencing the space exceedingly typical layout patterns emerge Besides measured spaces set aside for sleeping there is seldom any scope to accommodate novel vantage points impromptu congregational spaces or arbitrary breaks and turns does not appear like one continuous structure the form and placement of the individual units render a defined depth to the structure and give the impression that the larger structure is a compound that integrates many independent sub-units offer unique outdoor views and indoor experiences despite being placed in the same context In addition to the fields and mountains surrounding the structure a pond on the western side and a creek flowing along the southern face enhance the microclimate of the site Cipo Laoling Residence does not stand isolated There lies a village on its northeast side opening up ample scope—for the residents—to avail amenities and engage with the local community Jumping House Lab derived inspiration from the scale of these houses and the spatial morphology of the village to design the Cipo Laoling Residence is evocative of the natural growth of the village Although the form and style of the structures are heavily contemporary offsetting it from the traditional village houses in the vicinity the integration of staggered units in Cipo Laoling Residence is harmonious with the spatial layout of the village While Jumping House Lab’s inspiration comes from white-hued icons by Kahn, Ando and Fujimoto, their hotel design for Cipo Laoling Residence integrates this staggered morphology in a more anchored and cohesive format such that the different portions within the structure stretch out uninterrupted leaves out various indoor in-between spaces or offcuts that present the scope of loitering around discovering and rediscovering new nooks and vantage points and flexibly deputing roles to such spaces which stipulates the settlement into two distinct groups The west group comprises a sequential assembly of the individual units aligning with the square shape of the plot on this end This zone comprises almost all the public amenities housed within the structure The east wing and the west wing are connected via a zigzag pathway. Detailing the design of this pathway, the Chinese designers shared “Unlike the typically dull and uneventful straight hotel corridor that does not provide any view this zigzag allows visitors to experience it fully extends to the outdoor areas and leads visitors to the roof garden or the fields.” comprises a two-storey high atrium at its core Surrounding and facing this central atrium a handicraft workshop and a cafe-cum-bakery as well as five privately placed parent-child suites “The east wing gains a sense of community due to its mixing residential function with shared areas: there are not only spaces for private family time but also easy access to the continuous public spaces allowing for both solitude and social interaction,” the studio elaborates Although most of the area on the western wing includes private rooms, a portion is also set aside for communal usage, such as the public lounge. This lounge comprises three interconnected communal spaces. The first section, two-storey high, consists of a suspended walkway. It is also punctured with many openings that allow a healthy influx of natural light from different directions features a long horizontally placed window positioned at around 600 millimetres below the second zone is a reading and leisure space constituting low bookshelves All these zones are both spatially and visually connected whilst also designating separate areas for different activities Accompanying the public spaces in the west wing are 23 guest rooms of which 17 are standard rooms and double occupancy rooms and six are special suites Although most of the 23 rooms have a similar layout ensuring that each room offers a unique experience While some rooms offer outdoor views via balconies and terraces A few rooms feature floor-to-ceiling windows while others feature smaller fenestrations some face the lake and others face the vicinal mountains One of these is a rooftop suite that has access to three rooftop gardens placed in different directions The building also comprises a centrally located multipurpose hall laid out in a rough cross-shaped plan measures 10 metres by 20 metres and is suitable for hosting meetings performances and other communal activities Each end of the main hall comprises a concealed side stage “When the nearly eight-metre-wide openings are fully opened the boundary between the building and nature disappears People can then see through the entire building from north to south Such a setup can be used for a natural music concert or for an outdoor wedding ceremony,” Jumping House Lab shares This transition between warm and cool tones and alternate material palettes visually communicates the division of spaces without the usage of hefty structural entities Pondering another aspect of the visitor’s experience within the space “Transitioning from the exterior to the interior the spaces gradually become materialised and tangible In an attempt to further imbue a sense of warmth within the structure, Jumping House Lab incorporated small wooden cabins in various corners of the hotel interiors such as the reception area of this village hotel This sloping roof also conceals the air conditioning system The private parent-child suites are also designed to integrate elements from wooden houses reserving private space for children within the same space Cipo Laoling Residence is a structure that belies typical hotel architecture both in terms of its planning and the name designated to the project Bereft of engaging cultural attractions in the area the structure opens up ample opportunities for its residents to engage in communal activities in the many public spaces within the building—complete with contemporary conveniences its sporadically placed openings frame sublime views of the natural endowments around it appears to yield to Lee Yeo-reum’s quest—of finding a home tucked away from the chaotic urbane—in the Korean show Summer Strike Almas forayed into writing to fulfil her nascent aspiration of exploring latent tales and forging immersive narratives Apart from researching and writing on and about the latest creations and creators from the architecture and design fraternity she endeavours to explore the socio-political cultural and temporal factors that impact and are impacted by every kind of design and creative intervention From vernacular knowledge to modern sustainability Middle Eastern pavilions serve as living archives of architectural thought offering fresh frameworks for global adoption STIR engages with the curators of the Togo Oman and Qatar pavilions—debuting at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025—on representation the book presents a fictional story depicting algorithms exercising control over humans and how this affects the built environment Tipnis shares how the toolbox democratises the practice of restoration via DIY resources to repair tangible urban heritage made of common building materials Exclusive preview for subscribers. Learn More Make your fridays matter. Learn More © Copyright 2019-2025 STIR Design Private Limited Please confirm your email address and we’ll send you a link to reset your password All your bookmarks will be available across all your devices Password must be 8 characters long including one capital letter By creating an account, you acknowledge and agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy by STIR Select the Conversation Category you would like to watch Please enter your details and click submit Single account access for STIRworld.com,STIRpad.com and exclusive STIRfri content Verification link sent to check your inbox or spam folder to complete sign up process by Almas Sadique | Published on : Mar 22 with applications for over 145,000 patents and industrial designs received by CIPO from around the world in 2022 and by Canadian residents and in other jurisdictions in 2021 The IP Canada Report presents trends and research in IP use both in Canada and by Canadians globally with both IP rights growing for the second consecutive year the year 2022 was characterized by significant declines worldwide in trademark activity experienced 18% and 20% declines in trademark applications an 11% annual decline in trademark filings received by CIPO put an end to an 8-year period of uninterrupted annual growth which saw an unprecedented annual increase of 17% in 2021 A 1% annual decrease in industrial design filing activity was observed after 9 years of continuous growth in which 2020 and 2021 marked record annual increases of 20% and 11% Another highlight to note for 2022 is that the filing activity for the 3 IP rights administered by CIPO grew over a 10-year time span: 8% patents CIPO also observed increases in the proportional use of the filing systems offered by the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) and the Hague Agreement for industrial designs and 41% of industrial designs received by CIPO were filed using the PCT marking a record year in the rates of use for the 3 international filing systems This edition of the IP Canada Report also presents IP activity abroad by Canadians up to 2021 and industrial designs filed abroad in 2021 by Canadians increased by 12% returning to positive growth following a retraction in 2020 These results align with what the IP Canada Report 2022 had presented for IP activity in Canada by non-residents in 2021 Canadian innovators may have found opportunities in foreign markets during the COVID-19 pandemic Released in 2018, the national IP Strategy was designed to support the objectives of the Innovation and Skills Plan, such as fostering an ecosystem that supports businesses to grow.Footnote 4 The national IP Strategy as well as CIPO's 2023–2028 Business Strategy released this year emphasized the importance of the understanding and use of IP among population groups that have traditionally been less likely to use IP such as women and Indigenous entrepreneurs This edition of the IP Canada Report includes a summary of a research project conducted by StatCan that focuses on the patenting behaviour of women-owned businesses shedding light on one facet of the gender gap in patenting among Canadian enterprises Trademarks have been increasingly used for economic tracking and to estimate the level of commercialization of innovative technologies conventional research relies on the Nice Classification System which cannot provide a sufficient level of granularity or homogeneity CIPO has explored various data science approaches to extract information from trademark applications and input lines of trade using natural language processing techniques on text contained in the goods and services statements within such applications CIPO proposed a new methodology for conducting these trademark studies and demonstrated its utility through an analysis of marketing strategies among clean energy firms further develops CIPO's ability to leverage its IP data assets for research purposes The growth in Canada's GDP was mainly driven by house investments. Source: Statistics Canada. Table 36-10-0434-03 Gross domestic product (GDP) at basic prices, by industry, annual average (x 1,000,000) Return to footnote 3 referrer Government of Canada. Intellectual Property Strategy Return to footnote 4 referrer The Canadian Parliament passed legislation back in 2014 which made sweeping and significant changes to the Trademarks Act. Many of the changes were welcomed, while others were unexpected and generated controversy and debate. The five-year delay in implementation has permitted the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) to undertake significant changes internally make necessary upgrades to CIPO’s IT systems. The amendments and the new “regime” will come into force June 17 there is still time to take action to benefit from the coming changes. The most important changes to Canadian trademark law and practice are summarized below In addition to the changes highlighted above opposition and to technical requirements of the Act will be implemented as of the coming into force date Some of these changes should simplify the registration process somewhat and may encourage brand owners to take steps to protect their marks in Canada and abroad. However the race to avoid “per class” filing fees coupled with the elimination of the requirement to assert or prove use in order to obtain a trademark registration has already precipitated speculative filings and other types of objectionable behaviour The “new” marketplace imposes increased pressure on brand owners to be vigilant in identifying misleading and fraudulent third-party solicitations relating to the acquisition and maintenance of trademark rights and monitoring CIPO filings for potentially conflicting third-party marks Please feel free to contact any member of Osler’s IP group for further information or advice as the coming into force date approaches we accelerate innovation and creativity and everyone's a winner." – World Intellectual Property Organization World Intellectual Property Day is celebrated every year on April 26 It gives us the chance to celebrate all the players in intellectual property (IP) and to explore how IP drives the innovations that shape our world the theme is "Women and IP: Accelerating innovation and creativity." We wanted to start by putting the spotlight on some incredible women pushing the needle at the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO): Neena Kushwaha we recognize and showcase the achievements of women that contribute to providing the framework that supports innovation Neena is the chair of the Patent Appeal Board (PAB) an advisory body that gives recommendations to the Commissioner of Patents which is quasi-judicial in nature and advises on patent policy matters By providing a fair and efficient course for resolving impasses in the patent examination process the PAB helps to ensure that valuable inventions receive patent protection and that inventors and innovators are incentivized to continue developing innovative technologies This increases investment in research and development Women in the IP ecosystem can support each other by sharing their experiences and knowledge collaborating on initiatives and advocating for one another As a founding member of the women's mentorship pilot program at Innovation guidance and opportunities for our participants to advance their careers and achieve their professional goals Women face numerous challenges in the IP ecosystem including underrepresentation in leadership positions gender bias and lack of mentorship and sponsorship opportunities which are often critical to professional advancement Addressing these challenges requires a concerted effort from individuals and organizations to promote diversity and inclusion combat unconscious biases and support the career development of women Lily is a senior patent examiner in the Chemical Division of the Patent Branch at CIPO it's her job to make sure that applications comply with the laws (Patent Act and Patent Rules) before being granted as a patent she worked in drug discovery as a medicinal chemist I read and analyze inventions described in patent applications applications have 50 to 200 pages but the longest application I've been assigned was over a thousand pages A big part of my job involves explaining why certain discoveries can't be patented One of the difficult parts of the field is getting into the profession itself; making the transition from scientist to IP professional We can support each other by being a stepping stone to help each other gain entry into the field From a personal perspective this means I have a responsibility to maintain my own personal network of mentors but that I also make a conscience effort to mentor others This is especially important both as a woman and as someone who is a visible minority to support those that are underrepresented in this field "Commit to challenging yourself." For me this means every year I commit to working on 1 project that I find scary Probably the scariest project I've ever participated in was as a Panel Head for CIPO's Patent Quality Summit in 2019 This was a meeting organized and hosted by CIPO for internal and external clients on patent quality issues My job was to work behind the scenes with the other 2 panel heads and ensure group discussion panels ran smoothly Saida is the Chief of International Affairs at CIPO She gives political analysis and advice to senior management on all of CIPO's international interactions She also represents Canada at the Committee on Development and Intellectual Property at the World Intellectual Property Organization She holds a master's degree in economics from the University of Ottawa Supporting each other must be the objective regardless of women or men or the expertise Supporting each other to reach whatever objective we have set A teacher once told me: "Your future is in your hands It's your job to learn what future you want in order build it." 'This always stayed with me I remember thinking about it for weeks after Ultimately it means that you can do it if you really want it I find so many women in the IP world inspiring Virginie Ethier and Christine Piché would be at the top of my list—both for their capacity to perform at the highest level with such grace Maya is the acting Director of the IP Awareness and Education Services team and a key member of the team since its launch in 2017 The team creates impartial and credible information on IP so that Canadian innovators entrepreneurs and businesses think about IP differently and recognize its importance to business growth She holds a bachelor's degree in industrial design and has always been a creative and innovative person—little did she know then that she would end up working at CIPO Eighty-four percent of small and medium businesses aren't aware that they own IP.Footnote * At CIPO Every business has at least one of the following: a business name My team is increasing the knowledge and understanding of IP by Canadians so that they can strategically use and leverage IP for commercial and business success deliver training sessions and webinars to partners and the public and meet directly with entrepreneurs and businesses across Canada it's important to build a strong network to support each other what I like to call 'your circle of trust' You must identify mentors or people you aspire to be like develop strong partnerships and collaborations with like minded women or those that have a particular expertise that might help you grow your business; someone who can give you honest feedback This is how I established my own network of connections through my different work opportunities the different creative skills I can support with or need support with and I try to be there for other people as well "Believe in yourself and your abilities." Especially when it comes to innovation there is a lot of competition and you have to think outside the box so you have to stay focused on what you want to achieve even though it might take a few tries As an industrial designer you develop your brand and style and you know you won't please everybody along the way but you have to believe in yourself and believe that you have what it takes to make this world a better place Kelly began her career in IP almost 25 years ago She started her career into the amazing world of trademarks at a trademark firm in Ottawa She became a trademark agent and then joined the Trademarks and Industrial Designs Branch in 2008 as a trademark examiner have given her a unique perspective in her current role as acting Deputy Director She uses her expertise to provide guidance and contributes to granting quality trademark rights in Canada I have been afforded many opportunities to participate in the growth and development of the branch by working on special assignments and innovative projects These include the Next Generation Trademark system since it helps ensure we take into account different perspectives in our overall policies (Source: IP Awareness and Use Survey (IPAUS) Return to footnote * referrer © Copyright 2006-2025 Law Business Research Earlier this year, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) announced that it will increase its official fees on January 1, 2024. Earlier this summer, we wrote about the impact on patent fees, which are increasing by as much as 36% we look at the resulting impact on Canadian trademark fees causing brand owners to seek out strategies to expedite or ‘fast-track’ examination we encourage brand owners interested in filing new Canadian trademark applications particularly those seeking registration across multiple classes to act now and file their applications before December 31 those with trademark registrations which are due for renewal in the first half of 2024 may wish to pre-emptively renew their registrations to save money and avoid the increased renewal fees The increases to some commonly paid Canadian trademark fees are outlined in the chart below: [View source.] See more » Refine your interests » Back to Top Explore 2025 Readers' Choice Awards Copyright © var today = new Date(); var yyyy = today.getFullYear();document.write(yyyy + " "); JD Supra Be one of the first to try our new activity feed seized bottom brackets and power meter drag Zecchetto’s son, Philipe, runs the company. It says “Made in Italy” on the link bar on the site, and the first photo that comes up says that they are monocoque frames developed by Italian engineers I don’t know where actual production happens but the company would be relatively rare if it were not producing in Asia I did hear that the first time trial frames for the team did not meet UCI technical regulations As you can see when you look at the design of the websites of MCipollini , Giordana, and DMT the same hand seems to be behind all of them an important patron of both men’s and women’s cycling in Italy the founder of Giordana and owner of Gita Sporting Goods Zecchetto apparently owns MCipollini in some sort of partnership with Mario Cipollini himself I do not know why the logo seems to have changed recently from Cipollini to MCipollini The bikes I saw at the Giro and on which the ISD-Neri team rode last year just say Cipollini on them but the website seems to show only bikes with MCipollini written on them Mario Cipollini consults with both the Farnese Vini-Neri Sottoli men’s pro team and the MCipollini-Giordana women’s team of reigning Olympic champion Nicole Cook and reportedly designed the florescent yellow white and black clothing and bikes of both teams They say that you can “change the result by measuring it.” Moreover I’ve found that the more stuff you add to the drivetrain of the bike the more resistance you encounter — a chainguide on a mountain bike or even a 3-speed internally geared hub can make a noticeable difference to the power you can transfer to the rear wheel I could get my brakes adjusted the way I like them (really sensitive so that if I touched the lever the pads touched the rim) by making sure my wheels were true I have used discs for six years and I cannot do that without sacrificing lever action if the rotors are not perfectly true I have used both: all steel and aluminum carrier/steel surface rotors and I am always vexed by the fact that there is no clearly prescribed or obvious and aluminum and titanium threaded together can certainly gall Galling is common with threads made of stainless steel and other alloys which self-generate a protective oxide surface film As tightening pressure builds between thread surfaces and the contacting areas shear or lock together They stick together more as this clogging-shearing-locking action continues Galling can lead to seizing — the actual freezing together of the threads Continued tightening can snap the bolt off or tear off its threads The other thing that could have happened is that the Ti shell could have stretched around the cup if it was threaded undersized rather than galling the threads on initial installation and then shrunk down so tightly that unscrewing would gall the threads The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) and the Trade Commissioner Service (TCS) have announced their continued collaboration to promote the awareness and use of intellectual property (IP) among Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) CIPO and the TCS signed a renewed memorandum of understanding (MOU) with a comprehensive set of goals These objectives include developing digital and virtual educational content and tools to assist Canadian SMEs in identifying and managing IP effectively when conducting business internationally The collaboration also aims to strengthen key partnerships through the IP Village fostering strategic connections with industry and academia to better inform and support exporting SMEs and underrepresented groups facing IP-related challenges the renewed MOU focuses on implementing a data-driven and evidence-based approach to enhance the impact of IP program delivery "The role of IP is critical in the international expansion of any business CIPO is excited to continue working with the TCS to help Canadian SMEs protect their IP abroad." the Trade Commissioner Service is better equipped with the necessary tools and resources to ensure Canadian exporters can succeed in international markets while protecting their IP We look forward to continuing our collaboration," said Sara Wilshaw Canada's Chief Trade Commissioner and Assistant Deputy Minister of international Business Development highlighting the significance of the partnership in equipping the Trade Commissioner Service with essential tools and resources CIPO and TCS are active partners in the IP Village collaborating with six key Canadian organizations to empower businesses to understand and utilize IP more effectively CIPO's publication of 10 Doing Business Abroad guides further supplements these efforts and links to assist Canadians in protecting their IP rights in various foreign markets Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025 Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement Konstantinos Georgaras took up the role of interim CEO in Canada’s IP office in 2020 and it appears the right people were impressed The governor in council officially appointed Georgaras to the role of commissioner of patents registrar of trademarks and CEO of the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) in October We at Managing IP were impressed too The trademark office has been tackling a tremendous backlog over the past few years Canada’s decision to enter the Madrid Protocol in 2019 drew a flood of applicants to the country the agency has been working hard to fight this backlog the office began to send automated pre-assessment letters letting filers know when goods and services in their applications didn’t match the ones in CIPO’s manual This policy was useful because the office could examine applications faster when the goods and services could be found in the manual This new policy also led to some firms getting bombarded with letters from the trademark office But counsel are still pretty happy that Georgaras and the office are doing their best to reduce the wait which you can navigate by selecting the appropriate section below ▲ Back to top of category list You have reached the limit for gifting for this month Kimberly Kaye-Lopez is a New Jersey girl who made the move across the bridge to New York City for her career The 35-year-old enjoyed the hustle and bustle of her life in Manhattan as a journalist and creative director while singing in an Americana band on nights and weekends In 2012, Mrs. Kaye-Lopez was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease an inflammatory bowel disease that affects the gastrointestinal tract Her gastrointestinal health issues were increasing “In August 2017 everything went wrong I went from being okay to pretty much dying,” recalls Mrs my hair was falling out and I couldn’t eat or go to the bathroom and no root cause of her severe and rapid health decline was found Kay-Lopez’s husband and bandmate feared for her life and took to social media pleading for help She said Cleveland Clinic helped save her parents and she was certain they could treat me,” says Mrs Within two weeks, Mrs. Kaye-Lopez was on a plane to Cleveland for a consult at Cleveland Clinic Her consult turned into a hospital admission Kaye-Lopez was in total gastrointestinal organ failure stemming from an issue with her nervous system — she was starving to death and her organs were failing because of it She spent the next few weeks as an inpatient and was placed on total patenteral nutrition (TPN) — a tube was placed in her heart and was connected to a backpack providing her body with necessary sustenance “It was a big relief to receive the nourishment my body so badly needed but at the same time I was thinking ‘There’s a tube in my heart How am I going to live like this?’,” recalls Mrs She was diagnosed with provisional chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction (CIPO) and general dysmotility – when the muscles in the digestive system do not work as they should gastrointestinal disorder characterized by abnormalities affecting the gastrointestinal tract that’s complicated by stress and anxiety The symptoms resemble those of an obstructed bowel Her physicians weighed the option of a total gastrointestinal transplant but wanted to keep the six-organ transplantation as a last resort “I had an emotional and mental meltdown,” says Mrs I couldn’t do anything I enjoyed like sing I didn’t know how I could live life this way.” She spoke to a psychiatrist about her anxiety, insomnia and chronic abdominal pain. After their talk, the physician put her in touch with Xavier Jimenez, MD, medical director of Cleveland Clinic’s Chronic Pain Rehabilitation Program (CPRP) The CPRP is a month-long intensive program in a group setting that spans eight hours a day for five days a week hope and solutions for patients whose illnesses make them feel like they have nowhere else to turn,” explains Dr “We focus on our patients as a whole to give them the necessary tools to live a fulfilled life.” Kaye-Lopez’s daily regimen consisted of various modalities including – occupational laughed and learned from patients and caregivers,” remembers Mrs “The program changed my mindset and taught me how to live with CIPO It was the first time I realized I could actually live with this rare disease.” Kaye-Lopez was able stop taking 14 of her 16 medications She learned how to get back to the things she loves despite having CIPO and avoided the gastrointestinal transplant Kaye-Lopez flew back to New Orleans and the next day she was singing in front of a crowd of 5,000 people she wondered how she was going to live and now she was back to doing what she loved – and healing “Kim has to make a conscious effort every day to remain healthy and functional she’ll continue to succeed in every aspect of her life,” says Dr she had a CIPO flare up and returned to see Dr The flare up turned out to be a life changing event for Mrs Jimenez suggested that her vast medical knowledge about gastrointestinal health would translate well into a career Kaye-Lopez put down her pen and picked up some books deciding to make a career change and become a certified functional medicine nutritionist compassion and treatment at Cleveland Clinic I wouldn’t be here today or be on my way to helping others like me.”