Canadian Intellectual Property Office Publishes Service Standards

The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) has released its target turnaround times for 2006-7 for specific IP steps. For patents, the following targets are indicated:

• filing certificates within four weeks of receipt of application;
• national phase entry certificates within eight weeks of receipt of application;
• recordal certificates within six weeks from receipt of documentation; and
• substantive examination within 27 months after request for examination.

Although these represent an improvement over the 2005-6 targets, many Canadian IP practitioners may consider the 27 months for first office actions to be excessive. The best advice remains to request examination at an early date, taking into account the expected delay in receiving a first office action. Trade-mark, design and copyright target turnaround times are also noted in the report. The 2006-7 CIPO Service Standards are available at: http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/sc_mrksv/cipo/corp/service_standards/service-e.html The 2005-6 CIPO Service Standards are also available, at: http://masl.to/?H18132F4E Summary by: Jennifer Jannuska