Filing requirements with attached CD-R

Under Section 8.1(1) of the Patent Act, the Canadian Patent Office will accept parts of very large applications on CD-R in duplicate. Very large applications are any application which exceeds 1000 pages. Filing date requirements prescribed in Section 93 of the rules still remain. Parts of the application, for example, the instruction letter at filing, the petition, the abstract and any assignment documents must still be submitted on paper.

The CD-R must contain a table of contents and the specific file(s) must be in TIFF format as defined below. The part(s) of the application must be logically broken down in files which are no larger than 250 pages.

For all amendments of parts of an application which were filed on CD-R, the office requires these amendments on CD-R in duplicate to be included with the amendment letter and the CD-R must include a revised copy of the entire application with instructions in the letter describing the changes that were made.

Under Rule 131 of the regulations, the Canadian Patent Office will accept CD-R format. This CD-R must be separate from any CD-R which may be filed containing parts of the application itself. The ASCII file on the CD-R may and preferably so, be broken down into logical parts (sequences) so that the size of any file is more easily handled by the Office. A table of contents which describes each part is required on the CD-R being submitted.

TIFF Format:

The Canadian Patent Office has chosen the TIFF CCITT Group 4, multi-page format as the acceptable format for graphic images. This format has been chosen primarily because of its current popular usage within the Global Intellectual Property sphere. The United States Patent and Trademarks Office, the World Intellectual Property Organization and the European Patent Office are among several Intellectual Property Offices around the world that utilize the TIFF graphic image format.

The Group 4 standard utilizes compression techniques in order to save on storage space.

In order to ensure that a high graphic resolution is achieved, the images should be scanned /stored at 300 DPI resolution in Black and White. This will minimize file size while maintaining clarity.

The dimensions of the scanned/stored images should match that of the paper requirements, namely 8 1/2" by 11" or A4.

To summarize, the graphic images should be TIFF CCITT Group 4, multi-page, 300 DPI, Black & White, and 8 1/2" by 11" or A4.

Legend:

TIFF is an acronym for Tag(ged) Image File Format

CCITT Group 4 refers to a universal compression standard for TIFF images.

The TIFF Multi-Page format allows several scanned pages to reside in the same TIFF file.

300DPI refers to the Dots Per Inch resolution.

CITT is the International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee Geneva.

Caveat:

The Office reserves the right to require the applicant to provide a copy of the application in a different format.