CIPO News Updates
December 7, 2005
Coming into Force of Section 2 of Act to Amend the Patent Act (Bill C-29)
Section 2 of An Act to amend the Patent Act (Bill C-29)
will be brought into force on February 1, 2006.
Section 2 of the Act seeks to provide relief to patent holders
and applicants who, having incorrectly paid certain patent fees,
could see the validity of their patents jeopardized. The amendments
will provide patent holders and applicants who have been affected
by certain Court decisions with a one-year time limit to rectify
past fees that were incorrectly paid at the small entity level.
For more information about this initiative, please visit
our newsroom.
CIPO Delegation Active at WIPO Assemblies 2005
CEO David Tobin led CIPO's delegation at the WIPO Assemblies in
late September and early October.
The WIPO General Assembly brings together the 182 Member States of
the Organization. The highlights of the meeting included:
- Member States underscored WIPO's achievements in promoting IP as
a tool for social, economic and cultural development worldwide. Many
member states expressed appreciation for WIPO's wide range of technical
and legal assistance in fostering an IP culture, the modernization
of IP infrastructure, human resources development and implementation
of international treaties.
- The proposed Budget for the 2006-2007 biennium was approved.
This was the first balanced budget in some eight years and included
the creation of an Audit Committee and Audit Charter, a construction
loan for the new building, and flexibilities with regard to the
Development Agenda.
- There was agreement on the convening of a diplomatic conference
on the revision of the Trademark Law Treaty (TLT) that will further
simplify and streamline procedures relating to the registration of
trademarks. It will update the existing treaty, bringing its
procedures in line with technological advances in telecommunications
in the past decade. This diplomatic conference will be held in
Singapore in March 2006.
- The revision of the TLT envisages the inclusion in the treaty
of provisions on electronic filing of trademark applications and
associated communications, provisions concerning the recording of
trademark licenses, relief measures when certain time limits have
been missed, and the establishment of an assembly of the contracting
parties to enable the updating of administrative provisions
regulated under the treaty.
- There was an extension of the mandate of the WIPO Intergovernmental
Committee on IP and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and
Folklore (IGC), for a further two years in order to bring about
an acceleration on progress on issues under its mandate.
- Recognizing the importance of a development dimension of IP,
there was considerable debate on the Development Agenda. It was
agreed to establish a "Provisional Committee to accelerate and
complete discussions" and report with recommendations to the 2006
General Assembly. It was also agreed to formulate a process for
developing a future workplan for the Standing Committee on the
Law of Patents (SCP).
Canada Holds Bilateral Meetings at General Assemblies in Geneva
Canada recently held several bilateral meetings on IP issues with
seniors officials of a number of offices, namely with the:
- Commissioner Makoto Nakajima of the Japanese Patent Office (JPO);
- Commissioner Jong Kap Kim of the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO);
- Deputy Commissioner Yuguang Li of the Chinese Intellectual Property Office (SIPO); and
- President Roberto Jaguaribe of the Brazilian Intellectual Office (INPI).
These exchanges took place at the 2005 General Assemblies held in
Geneva from September 25 to October 5.
David Tobin, CIPO's CEO, led the Canadian Delegation in discussions
which concentrated on operational issues (e.g. backlogs, examiner
training and IP awareness) and on possible cooperation projects.
The CIPO also hosted, for the third consecutive year, the Ariana
Meeting. The purpose of this gathering is to informally exchange
views and facilitate future dialogue among IPOs. Discussions are
focused on matters which preoccupy individual offices, as well as
current issues being debated at the General Assemblies.
Trade-marks Database Tutorial Launched
A new tool to help entrepreneurs make better business decisions!
On October 17, 2005, CIPO launched the Trade-marks Database tutorial for entrepreneurs.
This new e-learning tool explains the importance of trade-marks
information, the content of the database and how to search more effectively.
A search of the Trade-marks Database could save time and money for
new businesses by making them aware of existing trade-marks, allowing
them to make better business decisions.
Find out how to search for availability, competitive information
and design marks. Discover the possibilities by consulting the
Trade-marks Database Tutorial.
The tutorial is part of a larger business resource, the IP
Toolkit, created to increase awareness and knowledge of
the value of patents, trade-marks, copyrights, industrial designs
and integrated circuit topographies.
WIPO Begins On-line Publication of Gazette of International Marks
In September, the World Intellectual Property Organization
(WIPO) began publishing an on-line
edition of the WIPO
Gazette of International Marks, the official publication of the
Madrid System for the International Registration of Trademarks.
The Gazette contains information of general interest
such as declarations and notifications made by contracting parties
under the Agreement, the Protocol – the two treaties that govern
the Madrid System – or the Common Regulations under these
treaties regarding particular requirements, or the amounts of
individual fees.
The on-line edition of the Gazette is an electronic reproduction
of the paper version, but offers a number of important advantages
for users. Apart from full text search facilities, the on-line version:
- allows easy and immediate access to the contents of an issue of
the Gazette as of the day of its publication; and
- is free-of-charge.
The CD-ROM edition also includes a cumulative index for the year
to which it relates. This index, available only on CD-ROM, allows
simple searches to be made in one or more issues within a single
year according to the name of the holder, the international
registration number, any verbal elements of the mark and the
type of record published. The search result consists of a list
of hits with links to the relevant issue and page of the Gazette.
Further information about these products is available from the
WIPO electronic bookshop.
The international trademark system administered by
WIPO allows a trademark owner the possibility of having a mark
protected in up to 76 countries and the European Community by filing
one application, in one language, with one set of fees, in one
currency (Swiss francs). Thereafter, the international registration
can be maintained and renewed through a single procedure.
An international registration under the Madrid System produces
the same effects as an application for registration of the mark
in each of the contracting parties designated by the applicant.
If protection is not refused by the trademark office of a designated
contracting party, the status of the mark is the same as if it
had been registered by that office. In other words, the system
provides a cost-effective and efficient way for trademark holders
to secure protection for their marks in multiple countries through
the filing of a single application.
The system is governed by two international treaties, namely the
Madrid
Agreement and the Madrid Protocol. The Madrid Protocol
which became operational in 1996 introduced several features
including the ability to submit applications in English and extend
the period for notification of a refusal which made the system
more flexible and attractive to a larger number of countries.
Applicants may now submit applications in three working languages
of the system, namely, English, French and Spanish.
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