Consultation on changes to MOPOP resulting from "Patentable Subject-Matter under the Patent Act"

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Current status: Closed

This consultation closed on February 25, 2022.

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About the consultation

The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) is seeking feedback on proposed changes to the Manual of Patent Office Practice (MOPOP). These changes relate primarily to the integration of guidance from the practice notice entitled "Patentable Subject-matter under the Patent Act."

The target audience for this consultation includes the patent professional community, persons or organizations involved in innovation, and the Canadian public. The period for public comment is 10 weeks running from December 15, 2021 to February 25, 2022.

MOPOP is a guide for patent examiners, applicants, agents and the public looking for information about the operational procedures and examination practices of the Patent Office under the Patent Act and Patent Rules.

As the practice notice introduced changes in the fundamental concept of purposive construction as well as in the assessment of patentable subject-matter, several chapters of MOPOP have been affected. There are significant proposed changes to the whole of chapter 17 (Subject-matter) and chapter 22 (Computer-implemented Inventions). Chapter 12 (Fundamentals of Examination) and chapter 23 (Biotechnology and Medicinal Inventions) have significant proposed changes in certain sections. Chapter 18 (Anticipation, Obviousness and Double-Patenting) only has a few proposed changes relating to the Practice Notice but some additional proposed changes were introduced to the section on Obviousness to better clarify the guidance in view of recent jurisprudence.

Consultation documents

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Comments received during the consultation

Related information

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