Amendments to the Trade-mark Act and Patent Act, Patent Rules and Trademark Regulations are being made as of November 5, 2018 to amend the procedures on CIPO holidays and force majeure events, and as of June 2018 to patent reinstatements .
Orders in Council (link) will bring into effect changes to the Trade-mark Act and Patent Act relating to holidays and closures of CIPO on November 5, 2018 replacing existing sections 66 and 78 respectively.
(1) If a time period fixed under this Act for doing anything ends on a prescribed day or a day that is designated by the [Registrar/Commissioner], that time period is extended to the next day that is not a prescribed day or a designated day.
(2) The[Registrar/Commissioner] may, on account of unforeseen circumstances and if the[Registrar/Commissioner] is satisfied that it is in the public interest to do so, designate any day for the purposes of subsection (1). If a day is designated, the[Registrar/Commissioner] shall inform the public of that fact on the website of the Canadian Intellectual Property Office.
These changes were included in Bill C-59, Economic Action Plan 2015 Act, No. 1 that received royal assent in 2015. The Order in Council also brings into effect as of November 5, 2018 an addition to the Trade-mark Act allowing regulations to be made relating to extensions of time – this was originally in the Combating Counterfeit Products Act from 2014:
the provision of documents, information or fees to the Registrar under this Act, including the time at which they are deemed to be received by the Registrar.
Supporting amendments to the Trade-marks Regulations and Patent Act list the holidays for which CIPO will be closed as well as related amendments to support designated days the Office is not open to the public.
With immediate effect, amendments to the Patent Rules clarify existing Office practice that a single request for reinstatement of an abandoned patent application may be made even if there are multiple grounds of abandonment.
Also today, some tweaks were made by the Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations to the Use of Patented Products for International Humanitarian Purposes Regulations