Criteria for Hyperlinking

CIPO's Web site aims to deliver information and services that are relevant to users and applicable to its mandate and that of the Government of Canada (GoC). CIPO attempts to ensure that the process and criterion are objective, bias-free, and based on relevant considerations. The following criterion will be used to determine the suitability of links to and from the CIPO Web site.

• The content of the site reflects the aims and objectives of CIPO and is consistent with its mandate. In some cases, CIPO may consider linking to organizations who are related to the overall GoC mandate as opposed to CIPO's mandate.
• The creation of a link does not provide unfair competitive advantage through on-line endorsements of third party interests. Links are provided for convenience purposes only and are not an endorsement or rating of the content of the sites to which they are made.
• The site is not considered inappropriate due to its content or its affiliations.
• The content of the site complies with the laws of Canada, which includes such items as copyright, privacy, etc.
• The content of the site is kept current and accurate.
• The site must allow users to navigate back to CIPO's site; they cannot block the user's return to CIPO's site by using embedded code or other techniques within the linked page that prevent the use of the browser's "Back" button.
• The site provides contact information that includes, as a minimum, two of the following:
  • E-mail
  • Address
  • Phone number
  • TTY/TTD
• Preference may be given to sites that make their information available in both official languages (English and French).
• Preference may be given to sites that meet the accessibility requirements outlined in Common Look and Feel (CLF) Standards 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 and 1.4.
• Preference may be given to sites that provide uninterrupted, free access to users.
• Links created within the context of a collaborative agreement are not considered an endorsement or providing an unfair competitive advantage.

Acceptable linking practices

Generally, we encourage third parties to link to our site. Therefore, permission to do so is not necessary. We do however ask that the following linking practices be respected:

• Use only text links for identifying and linking to the CIPO Web site.
• Do not link and/or use the official symbols of the GoC such as the Canada wordmark, the Federal Identity Program (FIP) signatures or CIPO logo as navigational aids/links.
• The official symbols of the GoC and the FIP signatures may appear on non-government sites only when they are used to identify a government contribution or participation in a collaborative agreement.
• The creation of a link does not confuse the user as to the source of the information through such practices as framing.
• The links provided respect the Copyright Notice that governs materials published on the CIPO Web site.
• The link is from a site providing information about intellectual property.

General parameters governing linking
CIPO reserves the right to refuse to post a link, to refuse to renew a link, or to terminate an existing link without prior notice due to non-compliance with the criterion mentioned or for any other appropriate reason which may include, but is not restricted to site navigation or content problems, or frequent client complaints.