Canadian Industrial Design Database Now Accessible Online

The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) recently announced the launch of a new industrial designs database. The database, accessible from the CIPO web site, will initially make available approximately 10,000 designs registered as of June 15, 2002. New registrations will be added on a weekly basis. CIPO expects to complete the addition of designs registered prior to June 15, 2002, within six months. The database is searchable by a number of variables, including by keyword, registration date, classification code or text, and court order number, to name a few. Users can also browse images by classification alone. Keyword searches return a plethora of information including, but not limited to, title, description, classification, filing date, owners, drawings and assignment information. Notably, the database does not provide images of assignment documents. Even at this early stage, the database promises to be a highly useful research tool. For the CIPO Industrial Designs Database, visit: http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/app/cipo/id/displaySearch.do?language=eng Summary by: Jason Young