Category Archives: Patents

Patent Term Adjustment is finally coming to Canada

The Canadian government is proposing modifications to the Patent Rules to finally introduce a Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) system[1]. The PTA will provide an additional term for patents for unreasonable delays in their issuance. The PTA system is an obligation deriving from the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) that entered into force on July 1, 2020.

This new PTA system will take effect on January 1, 2025, and it will apply to Canadian patent applications filed on or after December 1, 2020 that have suffered unreasonable delays in their issuance. An unreasonable delay is defined as a delay in issuance of more than five years from the filing date or three years from the examination request date, whichever is later, with certain exclusions.

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Study confirms the critical importance of working with high-quality patent attorney firms

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A recent study published by university scholars in The Journal of Industrial Economics[1] confirmed how important it is to work with highly qualified professionals to obtain a patent. Indeed, the results of the study confirmed that a higher-quality patent attorney firm can significantly raise the probability of a patent grant.

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Introduction to Trademarks – the Basics

As a strong supporter of the food and beverage industry, Fasken is pleased to invite you to view this episode of the Masterclass Series, presented by BC Food & Beverage (BCFB).

This video series features topics that will be of interest to producers, distributors and retailers in BC’s growing agribusiness, food and beverage industry.

Hear from Roger Kuypers and Janine McNeil, Trademark Agents at Fasken who discuss the importance of trademarks and how an effective trademark strategy is critical to your brand’s future growth and success.

Today’s Youth, Tomorrow’s Innovators: Emerging Technologies Present Challenges and Opportunities for the Creation and Protection of IP

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In celebration of this year’s theme for World IP Day, IP and Youth: Innovating for a Better Future, we are exploring the IP implications of emerging technologies that may shape our collective future: (A) artificial intelligence, (B) the metaverse, (C) non-fungible tokens, and (D) clean technologies.

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Canadian Strategies for New Patent Rule

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Upcoming Changes to Canadian Patent Practice Could Mean Increased Costs. Can you take steps now to mitigate?

As part of the implementation of the patent term adjustment (PTA) obligation in the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (“CUSMA”), the Government of Canada proposed a series of amendments to the Canadian Patent Rules to better streamline the patent examination process.

As noted in our earlier blog post, the proposed amendments provided for a request for continued examination requirement and a new notice from the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (“CIPO”) to applicants named a “conditional notice of allowance”, both of which are designed to streamline the patent examination process. 

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